Railwaygate Scandal
Aide axed
Under-fire minister also suspends GM, security chief; driver still missing; BB freezes accounts of APS, wife
Railway minister's Assistant Personal Secretary Omar Faruq Talukder was sacked and Railway General Manager (East) Yusuf Ali Mridha and Dhaka Division Security Commandant Enamul Huq were suspended yesterday in connection with the railwaygate scandal. The ongoing recruitment in around 3,500 posts in the ministry has also been suspended, Railway Minister Suranjit Sengupta told a press conference at the Railway Bhaban yesterday. “We've also decided to file judicial cases against the trio under the Government Servants (Discipline and Appeal) Rules 1985,” Suranjit said. His announcement came five days after the seizure of Tk 70 lakh from the microbus of his APS by BGB members around 11:30pm on April 9. The vehicle was on its way to Suranjit's Jigatola residence in the capital with Faruq, Mridha and Enamul on board, and the amount was reportedly part of the bribe money collected from the prospective job seekers. Sources had earlier told The Daily Star that the driver, Ali Azam Khan, drove the vehicle into the BGB Pilkhana headquarters having been refused Tk 5 lakh as share of the amount. Faruq, Mridha, Enamul and the driver were kept in Pilkhana in BGB custody that night. All but the driver was freed around 1:00pm the next day, Enamul told The Daily Star at his Kamalapur Railway Station office on Wednesday. The driver remains traceless since. The minister's press conference also came hours after Mridha told a two-member probe body in a written statement that he along with Faruq and Enamul was going to Suranjit's house that night. “The APS [Faruq] picked me up on the way. We had some official business to do with the minister,” Mridha told reporters, emerging from the office of Railway Director General Abu Taher who is heading the probe committee. Asked about the minister's claim that 10:00pm was his bedtime and that there was no question of meeting them late that night, the GM said: “The minister remains busy in various activities. There is nothing wrong going to his house at night for official purpose.” Faruq, who was summoned by a one-member committee probing his involvement in the scam, did not show up yesterday. Instead, he sent a statement by an aide. The content of the statement could not be known. On April 11, Faruq deposited Tk 70 lakh in his account with Mercantile Bank's Dhanmondi branch. The central bank has already opened an investigation into the abnormal deposit. Enamul, the security commandant, will be asked today to appear before the two-member probe body with his written statement tomorrow. Yesterday's press conference was the third by Suranjit since the scam came to light. He left the press meet after sketchily answering a few questions. Replying to a query, Suranjit said the action was taken against the trio based on the statement Mridha and Faruq gave to the body as well as the allegations raised against them in the media. “An APS is a privileged post. I myself decided to dismiss him. I am not a judge that I will try him. The law will take its own course," said Suranjit, looking upset. He also avoided making direct replies on why Mridha and Enamul were suspended, and not fired. Suranjit, a senior Awami League leader, had earlier defended the trio. After the scandal surfaced, he said the microbus driver tried to blackmail his APS. He also declined to suspend Mridha and Enamul, saying action could not be taken until they were proven guilty. Related documents and the statement of the APS will be handed over to the Anti-Corruption Commission and that the ministry will extend all-out help to the ACC, he told the press conference. The ACC has already opened an investigation into the railwaygate scam and also the alleged recruitment business in the ministry. The minister, however, came down heavily on the media. “Even a summary trial takes some time to try someone, but the media trial happens in no time,” he said, referring to the media coverage on the scandal. About Mridha's claim that they were going to his house, he said “Now many people will say many things.” Ruling out BNP's demand that he resign in 48 hours, Suranjit said: “They [BNP] did not make me minister. I'll think of it only if instructions come from the relevant person." Suranjit, who became minister of the newly-formed railway ministry in December last year, has been facing serious criticism over the scam. Expressing concern, political leaders, civil society members, and eminent citizens demanded independent and neutral investigation to unearth what had actually happened. The minister, however, has all along been claiming his innocence. The committees formed to probe the incident also came under fire as they are staffed by officials of the railway ministry and the railway. UNFLAPPABLE MRIDHA
Mridha went to the Railway Bhaban around 8:30am after a two-day leave and two holidays, two and a half hours ahead of the schedule. He visited offices of some officials, including that of the Railway Joint Secretary Shashi Kumar Singha, a member of the two-member probe body which is probing the allegation against him and security commandant Enamul. He then went to the room of the private secretary of the DG and wrote his statement there, and appeared before the committee at about 11:10am. “I don't have a vast property. All of my property is legal,” Mridha told The Daily Star. The probe body has asked him to stay in Dhaka for the sake of investigation. His posting is in Chittagong. Asked about his involvement in the money recovery scandal and the alleged corruption in recruitment, he said investigation would determine everything. He added the APS already claimed the ownership of the money and also deposited it in his bank account. Looking relaxed, Mridha said he would appoint a lawyer soon to defend himself. “I have no fear at all. Ten lawyers have already contacted me,” he said. BB FOR FREEZING FARUQ'S ACCOUNTS
Meanwhile the central bank yesterday ordered all commercial banks to immediately freeze the accounts of Faruq and his wife, Marzia Farhana. “As we are inquiring the matter, we've asked all banks to freeze his and his wife's accounts,” said a senior official of Money Laundering Prevention Department of BB. The BB will report its findings to the ACC.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments