Tk 3.46 crore graft case
Charge-sheets against three approved
UNB
The Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) has approved a chargesheet against three people, including a joint secretary of the Primary and Mass Education Ministry, in a Tk 3.46 crore graft case.
The Commission at its regular meeting on Sunday approved a proposal for submitting charge-sheet against them, ACC public relations officer Pranab Kumar Bhattacharya told UNB.
He said the charge-sheet will be submitted before court against joint secretary and then project director of Bangladesh Film Development Corporation (FDC) Modernisation and Extension Project Shafiqul Islam, Malaysia-based Novel Co official John Noel and local agent (M/s Khadiza International) of the supplier Khandker Shahidul.
On October 7, 2015, ACC deputy director Hamidul Hasan filed a case against four people, including former FDC managing director Pijush Bandyopadhyay and three others for allegedly embezzling over Tk 3.46 crore from the FDC project by supplying low-quality audio and rerecording equipment to the Corporation.
During the investigation of the national anti-corruption agency, Pijush submitted an application to the Commission on November 7, 2016 claiming that he, as an artist, worked sincerely to modernise the FDC while he was its managing director during 2012-2014, and was not involved in any corruption.
The actor said a senior official of the government was the project director of the FDC project and he and others were involved in its procurement process.
It is true that as per my regular work, I approved the procurement of equipment keeping trust in the project director. I was victimised by a vested quarter, he said in his letter.
Pranab Kumar said the Commission during its investigation did not find Pijushs involvement in procuring equipments for the FDC and that is why his name was left out of the charge-sheet.
