ACC gets three months more to probe into auction process of highways’ land

Although already seven months have passed, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has failed to comply with a High Court order that asked it to conduct a probe within two months into the auction process of a portion of land on the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway by a private bank as the land was used as a mortgage by a fraudulent for taking a loan of Tk 150 million from the bank.

The High Court on Thursday granted three months more to the organisation to complete the probe and to submit a report with it. It also fixed on February 24 in, 2023 for further hearing on the issue.

The High Court bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice Khizir Hayat passed the order after hearing a writ petition filed in this regard.

Lawyer Md Tamjid Hasan appeared in the court hearing on behalf of the writ petitioner, while lawyer Abul Kalam Azad appeared for the Bangladesh Financial Intelligent Unit (BFIU), lawyer Shaheen Ahmed for the ACC and Deputy Attorney General AKM Amin Uddin Manik for the state.

Later Mr Manik said that the court had granted three months to the ACC to complete the probe and to submit a report in the court.

Following a writ petition, the HC on April 25 this year directed the ACC to conduct a probe into the auction process of the land. The anti-graft body had also been asked to submit a report with it within June 26 after completing the probe.

It also issued a rule asking the government bodies concerned to explain why the inaction of the respondents in not performing their official duty by taking necessary steps against the corruption and misappropriation by a corrupted person or persons in respect of selling public property in Dhaka-Mymensingh highway shall not be declared illegal.

It also wanted to know in the rule why a direction should not be given to the respondents to perform their official duty by taking necessary steps against corruption and misappropriation by corrupted persons or persons involved in the auction process of the public property in Dhaka-Mymensingh highway.

Anti-Corruption Commission, Bangladesh Bank, Bangladesh Financial Intelligent Unit (BFIU), Social Islami Bank Limited (SIBL) and the Managing Director of the SIBL had been asked to comply with the rule.

One Golam Faruk became the owner of a portion of land on the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway in the Azampur area in Uttara using forged documents. He later took a bank loan of Tk 150 million by mortgaging the land to a private bank. The bank auctioned the land as the loan was not paid.

Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) on April 14 arrested him from the Uttara area in a case. Later in a press briefing, the RAB said that they had arrested Golam Faruk and his associate Feroz Al Mamun in a case filed over an attempt to murder with Badda Police Station in the capital. In that briefing, the RAB also raised the issue of auctioning the highway land for sale.

Later Obayed Ahmed, a Supreme Court lawyer, on April 21 this year, filed a writ petition with the HC seeking a probe into the matter.

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