2 officials of Chinese firm held at 'gunpoint'

Two officials of a Chinese company were held at “gunpoint” at the capital's Rail Bhaban for around five minutes apparently to prevent them from participating in a tender for a more than Tk 250-crore rail line project.

They went to the Bhaban on Abdul Gani Road around 11:45am and kept waiting on the ground floor for the lift to go to the fifth floor to drop tender documents.

Suddenly, a gang of four to five men forced them into the lift and took them to the eighth floor, which is quieter than the other floors, said several railway officials present there at that time.    

The gang then asked the two Chinese nationals to get out of the lift, and they complied. Sensing that there were people around, the two screamed for help.

Hearing that, several railway officials came out of their rooms. The gang members then hurriedly took the lift and escaped.

“We came out of our rooms after hearing a scream for help. They [the Chinese men] were shouting -- please help us, please save us … please don't hit us,” said a railway official who was on the floor at that time.

With the help of railway officials, the two representing Power China Ltd then dropped tender documents at the project director's room on the fifth floor.

Around 12:30pm, railway officials opened “the tender box”. And Power China Ltd, which the two Chinese officials were representing, won the bid by quoting the lowest price. 

Later, the two came out of the building and sought security from the on-duty policemen, who escorted them to Matsya Bhaban intersection, said a police official who was present at the main entrance to the rail ministry.    

Railway officials suspect that the two Chinese men were held at gunpoint in a bid to bar them from dropping tender documents. 

Talking to The Daily Star, Railway Minister Majibul Haque said he was unaware of the incident. “I will enquire about it and a probe will be carried out.”

The lowest bidder would get the contract in line with the rules, and no one would be allowed to interfere, he added.

Details of the two Chinese nationals couldn't be known immediately.

The incident took place despite the fact that a police team led by an assistant sub-inspector of Babupura Police Camp was deployed on the building premises since morning to ward off any untoward incident centring the tender submission.

Sujon Kumar Roy, sub-inspector of Shahbagh Police Station, told this correspondent that a team from the station had also been patrolling the area since morning.

Maruf Hossain Sorder, deputy commissioner of Ramna Division of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, said additional policemen went to the spot on information that there were troubles at Rail Bhaban. 

An investigation would be carried out into the incident, and action would be taken accordingly, he told The Daily Star.

The deadline for collecting tender documents was February 1 and that for submission of those was 12:00noon yesterday. The railway invited tender for construction of a dual-gauge line parallel to the existing metre gauge line from Dhaka to Narayanganj.

A total of five local and Chinese companies took part in the bidding. They are Toma Construction and Company Ltd, CRFG-Infratech JV, Max Infrastructure Ltd, Mir Akter-Ranken JV and Power China Ltd. 

Power China Ltd, which won the bid, quoted Tk 255.12 crore. Its closet bidder, Toma Construction and Company Ltd, quoted Tk 290.03 crore. Mir Akter-Ranken Joint Venture offered Tk 314.75 crore, Max Infrastructure Ltd Tk 318.81 crore and Chinese CRFG-Infratech Joint Venture Tk 357.44 crore.