Fake war heroes Niaz Uddin, Amir Hossain quit
Health and Public Service Commission (PSC) secretaries MM Niaz Uddin Mia and AKM Amir Hossain, who got their job extended with fake freedom fighter certificate, resigned today.
They submitted the resignation letters to the public administration ministry on health and personal grounds.
While talking to our correspondent, Niaz said, “I have taken the decision on personal ground.”
Contacted, Amir Hossain said, “I have served the government for 30 years. I think it is time to go on retirement.”
He denied making any remarks on whether he has resigned after an investigation found that they had obtained freedom fighter certificate without maintaining due procedures.
The Anti-Corruption Commission earlier found that Niaz Uddin, Amir Hossain and three others took freedom fighter certificates illegally to extend their service period last year.
Among the others, two are secretaries, one is a joint secretary and the other is chairman of the privatisation commission.
The accused are: Public Service Commission Secretary AKM Amir Hossain, former Liberation War Affairs secretary KH Masud Siddiqui (now an OSD), former joint secretary of Liberation War Affairs ministry Abul Kashem Talukder (currently an OSD) and Privatisation Commission Chairman Molla Waheeduzzaman.
The Ministry for Liberation War Affairs on September 14 decided to revoke the freedom fighters' certificates of the five top bureaucrats for forgery and not following proper procedures in obtaining those certificates.
The move to revoke the certificates comes amid widespread allegations of forgery in obtaining freedom fighter certificates.
The ACC on September 8 sent a probe report to the liberation war affairs ministry and the public administration ministries recommending that the war hero certificates of these five bureaucrats be revoked and legal steps taken against them.
According to the ACC, none of these five in question declared themselves as freedom fighters when they entered government service.
In November 2012, the Awami League-led government extended the retirement age of freedom
fighters from 59 years to 60. Earlier in April 2010, their retirement age was extended by two years from 57.
After the decision, many public servants fraudulently took freedom fighters' certificates to extend their service tenure.
Following the 2012 extension, the number of freedom fighters in government services stood at around 11,000. Of them, those in the final years of their service now were at best 15 or 16 years old during the Liberation War.
Over the past five years, some 11,150 people from different professions got freedom fighters' certificates, sources said.
At present, there are some 2.12 lakh freedom fighters. The number was 1.98 lakh in the 2002 gazette published during the period of BNP-Jamaat rule.
The government has revoked freedom fighters' certificates of 182 government officials so far this year, as they obtained those through cheating.
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