ACC to probe FF status of 8 top officials

The Anti-Corruption Commission is going to investigate allegations against eight top bureaucrats of obtaining freedom fighter certificates through forgery.

The anti-graft body has taken the decision on the basis of allegations that the officials including five secretaries, one additional secretary and two joint secretaries managed the certificates in a bid to extend their service tenure, sources said.

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ACC started collecting information about the bureaucrats.

Sources said all the eight public servants managed their certificates during the immediate past Awami League-led grand alliance government.

Earlier, the anti-graft body investigated three secretaries, one ex-secretary and one joint secretary and found that they obtained the certificates through irregularities and violating Muktijoddha Council Act-2002.

The ACC submitted its report on September 8 to the liberation war affair ministry and later the ministry revoked certificates of four government servants and withheld certificate of a former secretary.

The four are -- Health Secretary Niaz Uddin Mia, Public Service Commission Secretary AKM Amir Hossain, ex-liberation war affairs secretary KH Masud Siddiqui (now an OSD), and ex-joint secretary to the ministry Abul Kashem Talukder (now an OSD).

These government officials now have to face departmental action.

The certificate of former PMO secretary Molla Waheeduzzaman, now chairman of the Privatisation Commission, was withheld.

The present AL-led government has revoked freedom fighters' certificates of 182 government officials so far this year, as they obtained those through cheating.

The practice of obtaining such certificate by public servants started after the government had increased retirement age of freedom fighters in government job by two years more than the regular service tenure.

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.

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.