Matarbari Power Plant Graft: 2 govt officials sent to jail

A court in Cox's Bazar has sent former deputy commissioner and additional deputy commissioner of the district to jail in a case filed over misappropriating Tk 23 crore from Matarbari coal-based power plant project in Maheshkhali.

Former ADC (revenue) Zafar Alam appeared before Cox's Bazar's Chief Judicial Magistrate's Court yesterday and prayed for bail. But the court rejected the plea and sent him to jail, said Siraj Ullah, public prosecutor of Anti-Corruption Commission in Cox's Bazar.

On Sunday, the same court sent former DC Ruhul Amin, now working as deputy secretary at the finance ministry's Economic Relations Division, to prison, Siraj added.

Both Zafar and Ruhul are now attached to the pubic administration ministry as officers on special duty (OSD).

Mahbubur Rahman, the then land acquisition officer of Cox's Bazar, filed 20 cases with Cox's Bazar Sadar Model Police Station in 2014 when allegations of corruption in the power plant were raised.

Police later forwarded the cases to the ACC for investigation. The commission merged the 20 cases into one. On completion of probe, it pressed charges against 36 people, including the DC and the ADC, for embezzling Tk 23 crore through cheque fraud.

On May 9 this year, the anti-graft body arrested Zafar from the capital, and a Dhaka court sent him to jail. Ruhul was also sent to prison on May 22 when he appeared before Cox's Bazar's Chief Judicial Magistrate's Court.

Later, the two were released on bail after a High Court order.

The ACC then prayed to the Supreme Court for cancelling their bail, and the SC cancelled their bail and asked the two to surrender before the trial court, Public Prosecutor Siraj added.

Earlier, the ACC arrested Fakhrul Islam, the then surveyor of Cox's Bazar DC office, Abul Kashem Majumdar, the then chief assistant of land acquisition section of the DC office, and advocate Nur Mohammad Sikder in connection with the case.

Kashem and Nur are now on bail.