Action after ACC probe

Liberation War Affairs Minister yesterday told parliament that actions will be taken against the five government high officials, who apparently obtained fake freedom fighter's certificates after examining the Anti-Corruption Commission's probe report.
Replying to lawmakers' queries, AKM Mozammel Haque said "The ministry is examining the [ACC] probe report. I want to assure the House and the people that we must cancel freedom fighter's certificates of those government officials without considering their status, if they had obtained the certificates through forged documents."
However, expressing limitations of his ministry, Haque said they could only cancel their certificates.
"The ministry cannot take legal actions against those government officials who managed the certificates by unfair means," he said, adding that it is the public administration ministry that can take administrative and legal actions against them.
The anti-graft body, which was investigating the five, including three incumbent secretaries, sent its report to the ministry on Sept 8.
According to the report, AB Tajul Islam, the then state minister for Liberation War Affairs, abused his powers to illegally issue freedom fighters' certificates to five government officials last year.
Tajul issued the certificates on his own, bypassing the relevant law and the Jatiya Muktijoddha Council, commission sources said.
Under the law, the ministry cannot issue any freedom fighter's certificate without the recommendation of the council. Doing so is a violation of Muktijoddha Council Act-2002.
The commission recommended revoking their certificates, as they resorted to forgery to obtain those.
The five are Privatisation Commission Chairman and former PMO secretary Mollah Waheeduzzaman, Health Secretary Niaz Uddin Mia, Public Service Commission Secretary AKM Amir Hossain, former liberation war affairs secretary KH Masud Siddiqui (now an OSD), joint secretary of liberation war affairs ministry Abul Kashem Talukder (currently an OSD).
Replying to another query, the minister said on the basis of National Security Intelligence's first-hand report, the ministry had revoked freedom fighters' certificate of 182 people as they had obtained those through cheating.
The minister added that cases were filed against those fake freedom fighters.