Chuadanga Scam: Charges framed against four

A special tribunal in Kushtia framed charges against four people in a case filed over using bamboo sticks in place of iron rods in construction of a government-funded building in Chuadanga in 2015.

The four accused in the case are Monir Hossain, proprietor of construction firm Joy International Limited, Ayub Hossain, in-charge of project equipment procurement at Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), Abdus Sattar, managing director of construction firm Consortium, and Kamal Hossain.

Ashraful Islam, judge of the tribunal, ordered to frame charges against the four accused on Monday in connection with the filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Office in Kushtia, lawyer Al-Mujahid Mithu said on Wednesday. 

 According to the case statement, construction work of 3,750 square-feet plant control office and a building, under Phyto Sanitary Capacity Strengthening Project of DAE, in Chuadanga's Darshana municipality started on December 1 in 2015 at a cost of Tk 2.1 crore.

The building was scheduled to be handed over to the authorities concerned in June 2017.

After completion of about 70 percent work of the project, local people staged demonstration on April 6 in 2016, protesting use of bamboo sticks instead of iron rods in the construction work.

Later, DAE formed a probe committee headed by Marina Jebunnahar, senior monitoring and evaluation officer, who filed a criminal case with Damurhuda Police Station accusing Monir Hossain, Ayub Hossain, Kamal Hossain and Abdus Sattar in April 12 the same year.

According to the ACC office in Kushtia, ACC submitted the charge-sheet to the court on November 20, 2018.