Land revenue officials punished for graft
Three land revenue officials in Mymensingh district have been sent on forced retirement as investigations into departmental cases for corruption found them guilty.
The three persons are land revenue officer of Iswarganj upazila Abul Bashar, land revenue officer of Bhaluka upazila Sirajul Haque Bhuiyan and assistant land revenue officer of Mymensingh municipality land office Ferdous Ara Fatema.
Earlier different national dailies published reports on corrupt practices in land offices in the area.
Departmental cases were lodged against the three land revenue officials following the allegations of leasing out government lands to the vested quarters through fake papers in exchange of bribes in recent years and official investigations found the allegations true, sources said.
Consequently, Mymen-singh Deputy Commissioner AN Shamsuddin Azad Chowdhury ordered sending the three employees to forced retirement on February 17.
Amol Roy of Iswarganj upazila sadar lodged an allegation with the local administration against Ishwarganj upazila land revenue officer Abul Bashar for helping leasing out a portion of his 'leased land' to another person in exchange of Tk 30,000 as bribe.
Magistrate Sharmin Yeasmin of Mymensingh Collectorate office investigated the case and found Abul Bashar guilty.
The allegation against land revenue officer of Bhaluka upazila Sirajul Haque Bhuiyan was that he helped to lease out 155 acres of government land to Mega Fisheries in Bhaluka terming the land as 'open water bodies'. After investigation, Magistrate Aynur Akhtar Panna found the accused guilty.
Magistrate Banani Biswas investigated the allegation of illegally leasing out six acres of government land worth about Tk 20 crore at Balashpur of Mymensingh municipality against assistant land revenue officer of Mymensingh municipal land office Ferdous Ara Fatema.
Investigation against the land revenue officer of the same office Hazi Golam Mohammad is on, sources said.
As the allegations lodged against the land revenue officers were proved, the authority took action, said the deputy commissioner of Mymensingh.
However, assistant commissioners (Land) posted at that time in the upazila land offices were not brought under investigation, said a source.
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