Missing CCTV footage of ICT: Panel finds proof of hard drive swap

Authorities have found proof that a hard drive has been changed in an incident involving CCTV footage going missing from the prosecution office of the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT).

The missing video could not be recovered even after technological efforts, the fact finding committee was informed.

Tribunal IT expert Tanvir Zoha shared the information at a press briefing on Wednesday.

According to the Prosecution Office, the issue arose after prosecutor BM Sultan alleged that a member of the family of accused Afzalul — in a case over the burning of six bodies in Ashulia — entered the room of Prosecutor Gazi MH Tamim carrying a bag of money. To verify what happened that day, administrative officer Masud Rana went to collect the CCTV footage for Oct 13 last year. He found that footage for the specific date was missing from the hard drive.

“We initially found that some hard drives that were supposed to be recording CCTV footage had been replaced with other, older or newer drives. We also saw this in the CCTV log and the register book in our preliminary review,” Zoha said.

He added the matter is under investigation and the fact-finding committee — constituted by the ministry — has been informed and will take further steps and make recommendations. “So I cannot comment further at this stage,” he said.

Zoha said he could not recall the exact date of the hard-drive replacement, though he referred to the incident taking place last year.

Asked whether a general diary (GD) had been filed over the matter, he said: “I don’t have information on any GD at this moment.”

Hack of Tribunal-1 Chairman’s Phone, WhatsApp Account Recovered

IT expert Zoha also said the hacked phone and WhatsApp account of Tribunal-1 Chairman Justice Md Golam Murtaza Mozumder have been recovered. He said law enforcing agencies were able to identify the hackers but had yet to arrest them.

On those involved in the hacking, Zoha said: “We would like to disclose the IP address. Since this is a legal process, it would be proper to speak about the IP address after it is obtained through lawful means.”