DC appointment bribe allegations ‘baseless’: Public admin secretary

Allegations that bribes were paid for the appointment of new deputy commissioners are 'baseless,' says Public Administration Secretary Md Mokhlesur Rahman.

Kalbela, a national Bengali daily, ran two reports about claims that financial transactions had been made surrounding the appointment of deputy commissioners. The second report published on Thursday focused on the conversation of the public administration secretary and the joint secretary on WhatsApp.

bdnews24.com could not verify the allegations.

However, the public administration secretary faced the media on Thursday, hours after the report was published.

"I have a Samsung phone, while the one showed was an iPhone. Ask them about what they published. I have no idea about this," the secretary said regarding the WhatsApp conversation.

"I'm a middle-class person and don't even use the phone that government gave me. I still use my old number."

Asked whether the conversation had taken place, he said these kinds of questions were intended to generate sensationalist news.

"Not a word of it is true. Before asking me, ask yourself if the question is logical."

Asked what steps would be taken if the reports are false, he said: "We have already taken three measures. We wrote to the information secretary mentioning the daily's name. The government has been informed to take steps against it. There's the press council and other rules. We'll be taking measures accordingly," he said.

A letter has been sent to the home secretary to take action against the source who caused all the trouble, he said. He would be arrested in one or two days. The banker, whose mistake led to the opening of such a bank account, would face the law as well, he said.

Regarding the situation, Mokhlesur said: “How seriously should we take the people who make these claims? If someone off the street tells me something, should I run after them to learn more? I hold a government position and work for the people. I'll continue to work as I do now. As long as Allah has given me longevity, I'll work while following the rules."

He said the complainant was not worth consideration and the allegation was baseless. Asked if there would be a probe committee to look into the matter, he said: "It's a fake news.”