Relief ‘embezzler’ wins award for service to poor
A local Awami League leader widely criticised for misappropriating rice meant for poor people has won an award for making "special contributions to social service".
Shah Alam, industries and commerce affairs secretary of Brahmanbaria AL, was awarded by the Department of Social Services on National Social Services Day 2021 on Saturday.
Photos of him receiving the award from the deputy commissioner in the presence of other officials and local dignitaries went viral on Facebook yesterday.
Amid criticisms, Deputy Commissioner Hayat-ud-Dowla Khan wrote a letter yesterday evening, asking Deputy Director Masudul Hasan Taposh of the social services department to explain in 24 hours how Alam got nominated for the award.
The deputy commissioner told The Daily Star that he simply handed over the award because Alam was nominated by the social services department.
People expressed shock as it was only in April 2020 that Alam's dealership of the government's Open Market Sales (OMS) programme got cancelled after an investigation found that he added the names of his wife, daughter, and several relatives on the list of beneficiaries who are supposed to be poor people hit hard by the lockdown.
On April 1, 2020, the government announced that it would sell rice at a subsidised rate of Tk 10 a kg to beggars, transport workers, rickshaw pullers, labourers, street vendors and transgender people.
Alam used his power as an OMS dealer, who is in charge of distributing the rice in different neighbourhoods of Brahmanbaria, to add the names of his well-off family members in the list of beneficiaries.
Amid widespread allegations of corruption, the OMS authorities headed by Deputy Commissioner Hayat investigated the matter and cancelled Alam's dealership on May 14.
In a separate incident less than a month later, a mobile court found at a grocery store in Kawtoli area 31 sacks of daily essentials the government intended to sell among the poor people through the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB).
The grocer told officials at the time that he bought the goods from Alam, who also has a TCB dealership.
The district's social services department officials could not be reached over phone yesterday.
Contacted, Alam told The Daily Star some people were out to tarnish his image as a politician.
"I did not go to the social services office asking for an award… They picked me," said Alam, who is also the director of the district unit of Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industries.
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