Copper cable theft at Matarbari plant: No headway in case after 3 weeks

On August 31, Navy and Coast Guard in a joint raid arrested two men while they were attempting to remove 56.96 tonnes of copper cable wire worth Tk 17 crore from the Matarbari Coal Power Plant in Cox's Bazar's Maheshkhali upazila.

Three weeks have passed since the incident, but there has been no headway in the case filed in this regard, according to the plant's officials and police.

The arrestees, during primary interrogation, said the syndicate was led by Abul Kalam Azad, the former managing director of Coal Power Generation Company which operates the Matarbari plant.

Mirzanul Hasan, assistant security manager of CPGCBL, filed a case, which was recorded as a general dairy (GD) over the incident the next day, accusing Azad, Alfaz Uddin, assistant security manager of CPGCBL and Mohammad Iqbal, owner of Chattogram-based company Iqbal Marine, and 7-8 unidentified people.

As soon as charges of corruption were brought in against ex-MD Azad, he was withdrawn from his post, said Adviser for Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan to the press in Cox's Bazar.

Following the GD, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) was tasked with filing a case. The ACC assigned the matter to Director General (Enquiry and Investigation-2) Motahar Hossain on September 8.

Contacted, Motahar on Wednesday said he needed to "check to confirm the status of the matter", adding that Azad and the other officials involved have been charged with treason and a breach of trust.

On Thursday, he said an investigating officer was assigned in this regard and a case will be filed within a week.

Meanwhile, sources at the plant said the delay in the filing of a case is giving an opportunity to the perpetrators to cover their tracks and plan new strategies.

Citing the recent incident, many at the power plant said a similar amount of copper wire were smuggled out of the plant a few months ago.

Just as before, Mohammad Iqbal, owner of Iqbal Marine was responsible for transporting the stolen goods and ensuring their security, multiple sources mentioned.

According to the general diary, two containers of copper cable wire were smuggled to Iqbal Marine by the syndicate comprising former CPGCBL MD Azad, Executive Director (Finance) Mohammed Shahid Ullah, Chief Engineer ((Planning & Design)Mohammad Moniruzzaman, Deputy General Manager (Admin) Mohammad Motiur Rahman, Executive Engineer (Design-1) Kamrul Islam, with the help of Alfaz Uddin, assistant security manager of CPGCBL, and Mohamamd Rayhan, security in-charge of POSCO Engineering & Construction.