Wheat Misappropriation Case
Santhia Jamaat ameer, 10 activists charge sheeted
Police has submitted charge sheet against 11 activists of Jamaat-e-Islami in a case for misappropriating 120 tonnes of wheat meant for a project under Water Development Board (WDB) in Santhia upazila under the district.
The charge sheet submitted on August 12 was documented in the court file yesterday, court sources said.
The accused are Md Sirajuddoula, former chairman of Nandanpur union parishad under Santhia upazila, Mohammed Ali, ameer of Santhia upazila unit of Jamaat, Md Shafikul Islam Ratan, Md Selim, Md Abdul Kader, Md Harunur Rashid, Md Masudul Haque, Md Abdul Kuddus, Md Mukul Hossain, Most Nazma Khatun and Md Jahangir Alam.
Mohammed Ali also served as assistant private secretary to the then agriculture minister Motiur Rahman Nizami, also the chief of Jamaat.
On May 17, 2007, Md Lutfar Rahman, a resident of Rangamatia village, filed a case with Santhia police station alleging that the accused people in collusion with WDB officials misappropriated 120 tonnes of government allocated wheat in name of repairing irrigation canal under WDB in Santhia upazila in 2002, during the BNP-led four-party alliance rule.
The complainant also blamed then agriculture minister Nizami for using influence in forming the project implementation committee (PIC) for the purpose.
"The 11 accused in collusion with the government officials drew 120 tonnes of wheat worth about Tk 11 lakh in three instalments on March 1, May 18, and June 10 in 2002 in the name of repairing 4.5 km canal of D-2, S-10 at Muktahara Beel in Santhia upazila of Pabna district. Without conducting the development work, they misappropriated the whole amount allocated for the purpose, showing everything okay in the official papers,” goes the charge sheet submitted by Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Khan Md Abu Naser, also the investigation officer (IO) of the case.
Findings of the long investigation, which saw the 11 Jamaat men guilty, also shows that the PIC was formed following the order from the then agriculture minister Motiur Rahman Nizami, it adds.
The accused are now in bail, the IO said.
The court has fixed October 11 for hearing of the charge sheet, said advocate Md Golam Mostafa, counsel of the complainant.
The then executive engineer of WDB Shamir Kumar Bhattacharja, and sub-divisional engineer of WDB Bera circle office Md Shahidullah are also accused in the wheat misappropriation case and the Anti-Corruption Commission is investigating the allegations against them according to government rule, mentions the charge sheet.
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