Rohingyas Getting NID: ACC arrests 2 EC officials
The Anti-Corruption Commission yesterday arrested two Election Commission officials in Chattogram and Bandarban for their alleged involvement in making Bangladeshi National Identity (NID) cards for Rohingya people.
The arrestees are Nirupam Kanti Nath, data entry operator of Bandarban EC office, and Rishi Kesh Das, office assistant of Chattogram EC office, said Lutful Kabir Chandon, deputy director of ACC Integrated District Office Chattogram-1.
Both of the arrestees were temporary workers of the respective EC offices, he added.
Earlier on the day, the anti-corruption watchdog filed two cases against eight persons, including four EC officials, over money laundering and wealth amassment.
The accused are Joynal Abedin, office assistant of Chattogram Double Mooring Zone EC office; his wife Anisun Nahar Begum; Jafar, a Rohingya broker; Satya Sundar Dey, a former EC staff; Rishi Kesh Das, office assistant of Chattogram EC office; Nirupam Kanti Nath, data entry operator of Bandarban EC office; Bijoy Das and his sister Sima Das alias Sumaiya Akhter.
Of them, Joynal, Satya, Bijoy and Sima were already behind the bars in a case filed over NID forgery.
Of the two cases that were filed yesterday, one was filed against Joynal for amassing wealth worth Tk 69.7 lakh. The case was filed by Muhammad Jafar Sadek Shibli, deputy assistant director of ACC Integrated District Office Chattogram-2.
Another case was filed by Sharif Uddin, deputy assistant director of ACC Integrated District Office Chattogram-2, against all eight persons. This case was filed for laundering Tk 57.83 lakh.
THREE BANK ACCOUNTS USED
ACC’s DAD Sharif yesterday told The Daily Star that they found three bank accounts of Joynal that were used for transacting illegal money.
The bank accounts were with Anwara branch of Al Arafa Islami Bank, Chawkbazar branch of Islami Bank Limited, and Bankhkhali branch of Prime Bank Limited.
Sharif said, “These three accounts had huge amount of money deposited and withdrawn during the Rohingya mass exodus in 2017.
“Joynal, his wife and broker Jafar took benefits of the accoutns.”
According to DAD Jafor Sadek, Joynal amassed huge wealth, constructed four-storey building in Banshkhali and bought three pieces of land worth Tk 69 lakh with the illegal money.
On September 15, the ACC found that several syndicates provided NIDs to Rohingyas through forgery by using official devices.
ACC said several laptops of the EC, directly connected to NID server, were stolen and EC had no official record of the missing laptops.
The Rohingya people were using fake names and addresses while applying for the identification documents.
Officials of the EC still couldn’t say exactly how many Rohingyas have secured the cards through the illegal means.
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