BANGLADESH

The Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) has found Azizul Haque College former principal's and Bangladesh Chattra League (BCL) leaders' involvement in misappropriation of college fund worth Tk 3.4 million.

ACC Bogra office deputy director Mohammad Kamrul Ahsan submitted charge-sheets in 2 misappropriation cases to the court on Tuesday.

He told journalists that he pressed charges against former principal Sultan Ali and 21 others.

The accused student leaders are Chattra League college committee convenor Mahmudunnabi Russell and two joint convenors Kamrul Huda Ujjal and Kamrul Hasan Dalim.

The other alleged are retired chief assistant Jashim Uddin, acting chief assistant Abu Ershad Mohammad Mizanur Rahman, accounts executives S M Abdul Mannan and Rafiqul Islam, office assistant Abul Hossain, cashier Golum Azam, electrician Mohammad Montezar Rahman, assistant electrician Azharul Islam, cash assistant Mehedy Hassan, peons M A Hannan, Mohammad Shahinur Islam Shaheen, Zahidur Rahman, Harunur Rashid, Mohammad Alamgir, Mohammad Abdul Baset, Delwar Hossain, Sahadat Hossain and Moynul Haque.

ACC filed three cases with Bogra Sadar police station on Oct 4 last year against 23 charging them with embezzlement of Tk 6,870,140 between Nov 18 and Dec 31 2010.

The ACC investigators found proves of misappropriation of Tk 3.4 million.

Former assistant general secretary of the college student council Aminul Islam Dablu was exonerated from the charge as his involvement was not found.

The ACC had made 45 witnesses including incumbent principal A K M Salamat Ullah in the case.

The plaintiff of the three cases, ACC assistant director Birkanta Roy told that the charge-sheet of another case of embezzling Tk 3.4 million would be submitted shortly.

Prime minister Sheikh Hasina has ordered investigations into the allegations of corruption in the Padma bridge project.

Cabinet Division secretary M Abdul Aziz told reporters that Hasina issued the order at a meeting with the secretaries on Thursday, weeks after Canadian authorities launched an inquiry into possible corruption involving a $1.2 billion World Bank-funded project.

According to him, five allegations over the Padma bridge project have been raised.

Four of them had been brought during the last government's regime, he added.

The investigation by Canada began following allegations brought by the World Bank against employees of SNC-Lavalin Group Inc, which had been short listed for the project.

It is still unclear what allegations were brought against the firm.

The World Bank pledged $1.2 billion, Asian Development Bank $610 million, Japan International Cooperation Association $ 400 million and Islamic Development Bank $140 million as loan for the $2.9 billion-project to build the 6.15-kilometre long Padma bridge, the longest in the country.

The donors, however, have not yet cleared the money.

The allegation of corruption in the project seems to cause delay in clearing the loans.

The government is not ready for any delay in the project. Finance minister A M A Muhith on Monday said Bangladesh had proposed the World Bank to start the project soon by dropping any firm with allegation of corruption against it.