The bribery scandal of Railway GM Yusuf Ali Mridha, former Railway
Minister Suranjit Sengupta’s APS Omar Faruque and security commandant
Enamul Haque involving the minister himself has taken a new course to
become identified as a juicy jackfruit story.
The initial allegations were that Mridha had carried the money (Tk
70 lakh) from Chittagong, stayed in a specially reserved room of the
Railway rest house at Kamalapur Railway Station throughout the day and
started for the minister’s house at Jhigatola near Dhanmondi late in
evening accompanied by the Minister’ APS Omar Faruque in his car. Driver
Ali Azam suddenly drove the car to the BGB headquarters at Peelkhana
and asked the personnel on duty to search the vehicle. The BGB soldiers
recovered the money and justifying the presence of so much money in hand
Mridha and Faruque said they were going to the minister’s house to hand
over it to him.
This is how the bribery scandal involving cash for
railway job of about 7,000 posts became public that led to the
resignation of the Minister in public disgrace. To the utter surprise of
the nation the Minister has been, however, restored to the cabinet next
day without any portfolio.
Back to the cabinet
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said he had returned him to the
cabinet taking into consideration his contributions to the party
politics, but critics say a different story. Despite his return appeared
scandalous, the Prime Minister has been forced to take him back to the
cabinet under pressure from a big power as reported in the press.
Jackfruit story
But now the question is how the jackfruit story is overtaking the
real story to the big embarrassment of the nation particularly to those
who are engaged in the incident’s follow-up. The latest jackfruit
dimension of the story has been taken to the centre stage by Railway’s
general manager (GM) Mridha’s driver Mokhlesur Rahman while making a
deposition to officials of the Anti-Corruption Commission.
He told the probe committee last week that he carried ‘‘the gunny
bag of his boss during his Dhaka trip from Chittagong which was full of
“jackfruits, not bundles of notes,” a news report quoted him as saying.
“Yes, there was a bag with him (Mridha). I saw the bag when he
reached Dhaka on board a train from Chittagong on April 9. I guess, the
bag was full of jackfruits….nothing else,” Mokhlesur Rahman said before
the ACC probe team on Wednesday.
He said, “At about 9 pm on April 9, my boss Yusuf Mridha along with
his wife went to his daughter’s house at Road Number 3 of Dhanmondi
R/A. The then Railway minister’s APS Omar Faruq went there after 30
minutes. And Yusuf Mridha went out by Faruque’s car.”
Replying to a question by the ACC investigators, he said, “Actually, I don’t know whether there was any money in
APS’s car at that time.”
A three-member probe committee is now investigating the involvement
of GM Mridha who stands suspended now along with security commandant
Enamul haq who had also accompanied the GM and the APS Golam Faruq
Talukdar on that occasion.
ACC to quiz Suranjit, GM, APS
The ACC is also planning to quiz Suranjit Sengupta, his APS Omar
Faruq Talukder, Railway GM Yusuf Ali Mridha and Dhaka Division Security
Commandant Enamul Huq to know about their source of income and other
assets.
The committee will investigate into the source of their money, besides the recruitment scandal.
Earlier Railway Sramik League leaders at a press conference at Chittagong Press Club immediately
after the breaking of the bribery scandal alleged that GM Mridha
had collected at least Tk 10 crore from job aspirants and justified the
collection saying that the money had to be paid to the Minister at the
top to get approval of their appointment to the jobs. Later the money
traveled to Dhaka and was making way to the Minister’s house while it
was intercepted on the way by the BGB men.
But his driver now becomes a witness saying he had seen things like
Jackfruits in the gunny bag, not money. His boss did not carry any
money as much as he could guess seeing the nature of the luggage he was
carrying while visiting along with his wife to Dhaka.
Earlier, commandant Enamul Haque told the investigation committee that he had not seen any money in
the car which was intercepted by the BGB men inside their compound.
GM Mridha moreover said he was not aware of the fact there was money in
APS car.
Faruque on the other hand, claimed that the money that BGB men had discovered from the car was
his own money and that he got it from his wife and brother-in-law
who is living in London. Most mysteriously, although the minister had
denied any involvement, direct or indirect, he used his influence to
secure
the release of the three railway men and the money from the BGB custody while the whereabouts
of driver Ali Azam still remains unknown.
Analysts believe that he may be in the custody of the security agencies so that he can’t speak in public
to give the background story of why he had drove the car to the BGB
head quarters and what was the real story behind the money trafficking
at midnight.
The Railway is not specifically speaking about the whereabouts of driver Azam nor the BGB is clearing
the fact whether they have released the driver along with others on that occasion or passed him to any their party custody.
His wife and some other drivers reported to have said he was witness to many such money trafficking
cases and scandals reaching the booty to high official places. So
he has been detained in the custody to stop his mouth speaking.
But the Railway investigation teams are sending letters to his home to appear before the probe
committees to make depositions and help clear the scam. Such double
standard from the Railway authorities is really questionable and it
speaks of the ultimate fate of the investigations, critics say.
The railway departmental investigations may ultimately face a
dead-end in absence of credible eye witness, since driver Azam as a
vital witness is not visible in the scene. The jackfruit story and such
other stories are emerging as diversionary to the probes to declare the
accused clear of the allegations at the end.
It will ultimately exonerate Suranjit from the corruption scandal
as he has already claimed that he will not return to public life until
the probe committees, he has formed, will clear him from any involvement
in the bribery scam.
Meanwhile APS Faruque has deposited the money ( Tk 70 lakhs) to his
bank accounts claiming it his personal money and investigators said
they would ask him about the source of the money. Now if the money
stands out unaccounted to any credible source, he may at best face BNR
cases and he may buy freedom from any liability by paying taxas and some
fines against the money. It may be a different case.
Specially when police did not record a case of the occasion and also had declined to take the custody of
the money on reported instruction from higher political levels, APS
Faruque may not stand to lose anything big nor face any critical trial
case, except that that he has already lost his job. Others may also get
them free from the charges to keep the minister free from any hazards.
They will ultimately get back their job as permanent government
servants.
ACC said they would investigate into the money of Suranjit’s son
since he had paid Tk 5 crore to the telecom regulatory authority to get
an operating license. But it will ultimately require investigation into
the income and wealth of Suranjit and the permission of such probe must
come from the president through the Prime Minister’s office.
The question remains whether the Prime Minister’s office will allow
him to be probed which may in turn lead to exposure of corruptions at
high government places including other ministers, advisers and senior
government functionaries.
The jackfruit story is thus going to be a juicy story in future.
