Sunamganj Juba League leader lands in jail on Haor dam corruption charges

A court in Dhaka has ordered the authorities to send a leader of the ruling Awami League's youth front in Sunamganj on charges of corruption and irregularities in constructing the dams in backswamps or Haor.

Anti-Corruption Commission officials arrested Khairul Huda Chapal, the convenor of the Juba League's Sunamganj district, in Dhaka's Shahjalal International Airport with the help of law-enforcing agencies on Tuesday night when he was on his way to Singapore, an ACC spokesperson said.

On Wednesday, Dhaka's Chief Metropolitan Magistrate issued the order to send Chapal to jail when he was produced before the court, ACC Director Pranab Kumar Bhattacharya told bdnews24.com.

Jaba League leader Chapal runs M/s Noor Trading, a contracting firm in the district town. The firm was awarded five of the 160 packages of work to build and repair the dams.

He is among 61 prosecuted by the ACC over irregularities in the construction and restoration of dams meant to protect the backswamps from flooding in Sylhet’s Sunamganj in March-April.

The others include officials of Bangladesh Water Development Board or BWDB.

Md Afsar Uddin, a suspended BWDB engineer, Md Bacchu Miah, owner of M/s Ibrahim Traders and one Shamim Ahsan, were arrested in Dhaka's Motijheel soon after the case was initiated with Sunamganj Sadar Police on July 2.

Flash floods in March submerged large swathes of crops, especially Boro paddy fields, in the Haors or shallow wetlands in Sunamganj, Moulvibazar, Habiganj, Kishoreganj, Netrokona and Brahmanbarhia.

The devastation was blamed on corrupt officials and contractors who showed negligence in building or fortifying dams, damaging crops of around 19,840 hectares and affecting more than 800,000 families that rely on the land for the livelihood, according to the government.

The issue stirred up anger among activists who organised several media briefings in the capital.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, during her Apr 30 visit to Sunamganj, promised measures over possible negligence.

President Md Abdul Hamid also visited the flooded backswamps of his hometown Kishoreganj, one of the affected districts.

The ACC began investigating in April over reports that millions were embezzled from the funds allocated for 28 embankments that were never built in Sunamganj.