Directorate of Food suspends 28 staffers

Authorities of Directorate General of Food yesterday suspended 28 staff members for submitting counterfeit certificates for promotion.

The initiative came after Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) pointed it out to the authority.

On the basis of information on its hotline (106), ACC's Director General (DG) Muhammad Munir Chowdhury sent two officials at Khaddo Bhaban for inspection.

ACC's Assistant Director Gulshan Anowar Prodhan and Deputy Assistant Director Saiduzzaman found that 38 office assistants of the Directorate General of Food office applied for promotion to office assistant/computer operator posts.

In the enquiry, ACC officials found that 28 of them submitted fake computer proficiency certificates.

After ACC drew attention of the higher authority, DG of Food formed a three-member committee led by its additional director Mahmud Hassan to inquire into the matter.

Talking to the Daily Star, Arifur Rahman Apu, Director General of Directorate General of Food, said, “For promotion, they would have to sit for a computer literacy test. But out of over-eagerness, they submitted computer literacy certificates before the authority.”

“These certificates seem counterfeit,” he admitted.

 “We've suspended them,” said Arifur, adding they have already postponed the meeting of the committee that is overseeing the promotion-related matters.