ACC monitoring 123 accused of profiting from ghostwriting Bangabandhu memoir

ACC DG says next steps will follow intelligence report with details to come soon

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) is actively monitoring 123 people, including former Inspector General of Police Javed Patwari, amid allegations that they ghostwrote The Unfinished Memoirs, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s autobiography, and received flats and cash in return.

Speaking at ACC Headquarters on Sunday, Director General Md Akhtar Hossain said the matter is under intelligence probe.

“We are aware of the media reports. ACC has initiated intelligence operations. Our next steps will be based on the findings, and more details will follow soon,” he added.

The ACC’s response comes a day after a Channel 24 report claimed that Javed secured the post of IGP by overseeing the writing of The Unfinished Memoirs, and that his 123-strong team received flats in Dhanmondi, Bashundhara, and Mirpur, along with Tk 10 million each.

Citing documents from the Special Branch (SB) of police, the report alleged that the team compiled and edited the autobiography to gain favour with then prime minister Shiekh Hasina.

Javed was serving as head of the SB at the time.

The report said The Unfinished Memoirs was published in 2012. In the preface Hasina claimed that the book was prepared by editing and revising four handwritten notebooks by Bangladesh’s founding father Sheikh Mujib.

The memoir covers stories of the Pakistan Movement, the Language Movement, and incidents and conspiracies by the Pakistani rulers.

Hasina was often seen quoting from this book in public and urging her party members to learn from it, it added.