Jaha Alam’s Plight: What steps taken against them?

The High Court yesterday wanted to know about the actions taken against the officials of Anti-Corruption Commission and banks responsible for wrongly implicating jute mill worker Jaha Alam in corruption cases.

Earlier, the commission placed a probe report before the court where it mentioned that ACC’s investigation officials were responsible for erroneously incriminating Jaha Alam in corruption cases, which resulted in him languishing in jail for three years.

“It seems that the mistake of identifying Jaha Alam as Abu Salek happened because of the investigation officials,” said the report prepared by ACC Director (legal wing) Abul Hasnat Md Abdul Wadud.

Describing the extent of the officials’ carelessness, the report said 12 ACC officials investigated the cases, but none of them visited Jaha Alam’s house.

Some bank officials and introducers of Salek’s bank accounts misled the investigation officials, it also mentioned.

“But it is the duty of the investigation officials to unearth the truth and present it before the court. There is no scope for shifting this duty to bank officials or someone else,” the report further said.

Yesterday, the HC directed the ACC, Sonali Bank and BRAC Bank to submit separate reports before it by August 21 on the steps taken against the officials responsible for the suffering of Jaha Alam and to keep surveillance on them so that they cannot leave the country.

The HC bench of Justice FRM Nazmul Ahasan and Justice KM Kamrul Kader came up with the order during hearing a suomoto (voluntary) rule over compensating Jaha Alam.

It fixed August 21 for further hearing and passing order on this issue.

ACC’s lawyer Advocate Khurshid Alam Khan placed the probe report before the court during the hearing.

Deputy Attorney General Abdullah-Al-Mahmud Bashar told the court that Jaha Alam had suffered in jail in place of original accused due to the incompetence and negligence of the ACC officials and bank officials and therefore, the HC may take action against them.     

Advocate Sheikh Zakir Hossain and Advocate M Asaduzzaman appeared for Sonali Bank and BRAC Bank respectively.

In 2012, the ACC filed 33 cases against a number of individuals over misappropriation of Tk 18.5 crore from Sonali Bank. 

Abu Salek, a businessman, was made accused in 26 of those cases. 

But the ACC identified Jaha Alam as Salek. He was arrested in 2016 and sent to jail.

When the issue of wrongly implicating Jaha Alam surfaced in the media, the HC intervened and ordered his release. He was released from Kashimpur Central Jail-2 in Gazipur on February 4 this year.