BG Press staff used fake uniform to leak questions

Arrestee Abdul Jalil and Tk 28 lakh recovered from him shown to the media at Tejgaon Industrial Area Police Station yesterday.Photo: STAR

A Bangladesh Government Press employee got the question paper of the recruitment test for assistant teachers at public high schools out of the press hiding a copy inside a fake press uniform.
Meanwhile, another employee of BG Press was arrested yesterday with Tk 28 lakh at his BG Press office. He was arrested following information gleaned from detained BG Press employees. With his arrest six government employees have been arrested so far.
The arrestees are ATM Mostafa, compositor of BG Press; Hamidul Islam, binder of BG Press; Mostafa's wife Laboni Begum, also binder at BG Press; Khandaker Mohammad Ali, an assistant director of BG Press; and MA Rauf, administrative officer of the Public Service Commission (PSC).
Police sources said the arrested employees of BG Press yesterday disclosed important information and their innovative ways to leak question papers. They also said the syndicate has been doing it for a long time.
Police sources said Mostafa, during interrogation in remand, told investigators that Shahidul Islam, a binder of BG Press, got the question paper out of the press on July 6 using an innovative method.
He said Shahidul tailored an identical pair of trousers of the BG Press uniform but it had a secret pocket near the waist. Usually, employees and officials of BG Press put on their uniform after they enter the pressroom.
Mostafa said Shahidul put on a pair of regular trousers on top of the press uniform and then entered the press. He then took the trousers off inside the press making it look like he had changed into the press uniform.
He then slipped one of the question papers into the secret pocket and before leaving work he put on his trousers over the fake uniform that had the question paper inside, Mostafa told investigators.
While raiding Shahidul's house in Tejgaon police recovered a pair of fake BG Press uniform trousers, which had a pocket near the waist.
Mostafa said that Khandker Mohammad Ali maintained the duty roaster of employees and he made the roaster in such a way so that Shahidul could be on duty that day.
Mostafa also confessed to police that his wife Laboni Begum and some other BG Press employees and officials were involved in the leakage.
Police from Tejgaon Industrial Police Station yesterday afternoon arrested Abdul Jalil, forma proof pressman of offset branch of BG Press, and recovered Tk 28 lakh with a deposit slip kept in his personal metal suitcase at the BG Press.
Jalil was produced before the press in the evening at the police station.
He said Mostafa's wife Laboni took him to Mohammad Ali's house on Thursday and she later gave him the money to hold on to it saying she was in grave danger.
Chowdhury Monzurul Kabir, deputy commissioner of Tejgaon Division, said they got a tip-off that Jalil had a portion of the money the syndicate earned for leaking the question.
He said Jalil told them that he moved the money to his office on July 8.
This syndicate has long been involved with question paper leakage, he said adding that the investigation is on and all the names of people involved will be revealed.
The deposit slip revealed that he deposited to his account over Tk 50,000 each month since January.
Police took arrested Mohammad Ali and MA Rouf to Rangpur yesterday morning from Dhaka and both the arrestees on primary interrogation disclosed names of some employees and officials with BG press and PSC.
Superintendent of Police of Rangpur Saleh Mohammad Tanvir told reporters in his district that the arrestees on remand admitted that they leaked out the question papers for the written recruitment tests for auditor in the defence ministry, customs inspector, food inspector and primary school teachers during the last eight months.
They had also leaked out question papers for the test to recruit primary school teachers in 2009.
Police sought seven-day remand for Mohammad Ali and MA Rouf each but a magistrate granted only four-day remand each.