DIG Partha sent to jail

A Dhaka court yesterday sent Partha Gopal Banik, deputy inspector general (prisons) of Sylhet division, to jail after rejecting his bail petition in connection with a case filed over recovery of Tk 80 lakh from his residence in the capital.

Judge KM Emrul Kayesh of the Senior Special Judge’s Court of Dhaka issued the order after Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) produced the DIG before it yesterday afternoon.

ACC Assistant Director Md Salauddin filed the case against Partha with ACC’s Integrated District Office in Dhaka.

ACC lawyer Mosharraf Hossain Kajol yesterday told the court that the DIG should be confined in jail until the investigation is completed.

Opposing ACC’s plea, defense lawyer Masud Ahmed Talukdar said keeping Bangladeshi currency in one’s household is not a crime, and it was not “black money”.

“The DIG was implicated in the case with ill motive to harass him and thus he should be granted bail,” he added.

Asked about the money recovered from his house, Partha told the court that Tk 39 lakh from there were his savings, which he had picked up from his postal savings instrument.

Asked whether he disclosed this money in his income tax return, Partha replied in the negative, saying it was his lawyer’s mistake not to show the money in his tax return.

On Sunday, ACC Director Mohammad Yousuf quizzed Partha over allegations that he committed irregularities and corruption as DIG (prisons) of Chattogram division. The interrogation continued at ACC headquarters for about four hours.

After interrogation, ACC team accompanied by Partha went to his Green Road residence and recovered the money.

They later detained him, and showed him arrested after the case was filed, said Pranab Kumar Bhattacharya, ACC’s Public Relations Officer.

On October 26 last year, Government Railway Police (GRP) personnel arrested a jailer of Chattogram Central Jail, Sohel Rana Biswas, and recovered Tk 44 lakh in cash, documents showing fixed deposit accounts worth Tk 2.5 crore, and cheques of Tk 1.3 crore issued in favour of him, and 12 bottles of Phensedyl.

Sohel was going to his hometown in Mymensingh by train from Chattogram.

Two cases were filed over the incident, one for money laundering and the other for carrying drugs.

At that time, Partha was DIG (prisons) of Chattogram division, and Prasanta Gopal Banik was senior jail super of Chattogram Central Jail.

An investigation launched by prison authorities found that a section of Chattogram prison officials were involved in the incident. As per recommendations of the committee, several prison guards and senior officials were transferred.

The home ministry formed another probe committee over the matter. One of the recommendations of the committee was to launch inquiries into the wealth of top prison officials.

ACC’s quizzing of Partha on Sunday was part of the inquiry. Prasanta was also questioned on the day.