Lawyer serves legal notice to probe whether Bangabandhu wrote Unfinished Memoirs

A lawyer has served a legal notice to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), demanding an investigation into allegations that Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s Unfinished Memoirs was ghost-written in exchange for cash and property.

Supreme Court lawyer Obaidullah Al Mamun Sakib issued the notice on Sunday.

He confirmed that the notice was sent to the ACC chairman and other relevant officials, warning that if the commission fails to act, a writ petition will be filed with the High Court.

Speaking to bdnews24.com, Mamun referred to a report aired by private television Channel 24 on Aug 16, which claimed that former police chief Javed Patwary secured his position by writing the memoir on Sheikh Mujib’s behalf.

The report alleged that each of the 123 members of Javed’s team received a flat and Tk 10 million.

According to the television report, Unfinished Memoirs was first published in 2012. In its foreword, former prime minister Sheikh Hasina wrote that the book was prepared after editing and revising four notebooks left behind by Sheikh Mujib, covering the Pakistan Movement, the Language Movement, and different plots by the Pakistani ruling class.

Mamun, however, said multiple intelligence documents indicate that the book was actually written by Javed and his team, while he was serving as police chief, in an effort to secure Hasina’s favour and loyalty.

“Publishing a book in someone else’s name is a form of corruption. Moreover, the huge sums reportedly spent in this process must also be investigated,” the lawyer said.