ACC records statements of Shajahan, Abbas

Minister Shajahan Khan and former minister Mirza Abbas have deposed before the Anti Corruption Commission in a case against former state minister Alamgir Kabir over alleged corruption in allotment of seven-acre of government land to journalists.

Staff Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 12 Oct 2014, 05:09 PM
Updated : 12 Oct 2014, 05:09 PM

They went to the ACC office at Dhaka’s Segunbagicha on Sunday responding to summons by the national anti-graft agency.

Shipping Minister Khan arrived at the ACC office at around 11:15am and left around 12pm, while former housing and public works minister Abbas reached the office at around 3pm and gave statement for an hour.

The ACC prosecuted the state minister for housing and public works of the previous BNP-led government and three members of National Housing Authority on Mar 3 this year for irregularities in the land allotment.

In his statement, Abbas, also a member of BNP Standing Committee, said he could not recollect if there was any irregularities in the allotment.

On the contrary, Khan said “the entire matter of land allotment” happened bypassing the relevant rules and Kabir was responsible for that.
Talking to reporters after coming out of the ACC office, he said a workers’ organisation had applied for getting an allotment of the land in 1996 when the Awami League was in the government.
Later, the land was allotted to Dhaka Union of Journalists Cooperatives Association during the BNP-led coalition government.
“Irregularities have happened here and then State Minister for Housing and Public Works Alamgir Kabir has done them in violation of rules. I’ve said this to ACC,” the minister said.
An ACC official said minister Khan was the president of Jhilmil Cooperatives Association Limited, which had first applied for the land.
Abbas told the ACC investigator: “I don’t think there was any corruption here (in land allotment).
The case statement said Kabir allotted the land at Mirpur to the journalists’ cooperatives at a ‘nominal price’ causing financial loss to the government.
It said the land price was Tk 189.13 million but was allotted at Tk 33.88 million.