Form commission to find out behind-the-scenes conspirators: HC

The High Court has ordered to track down the individuals who masterminded the conspiracies against the Padma Bridge through false allegations of corruption in the project.

The HC bench of justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and justice Kazi Md Ejarul Haque Akondo passed the order on Tuesday and asked the concerned bodies to execute the order within the 30 days of receiving the order.

Besides, the commission was also asked to submit its investigation report within 60 days of its formation.

The cabinet secretary, home ministry secretary, road transport and bridges secretary, anti-corruption commission (ACC) chairman and inspector general of police and others concerned were made respondents to the order.

Responding to some media reports, the court, in a suo moto move on 20 December 2017, issued a rule asking why an order will not be issued to form a commission to find out the culprits behind the conspiracy of creating a speculative corruption story in the Padma Bridge project.

The rule also wanted to know why the culprits will not be brought to book. It ordered the cabinet secretary to report within the next 30 days.

After four years, the rule was placed before the court for hearing on Sunday and it scheduled the procedure for the next day, Monday. Later, it fixed Tuesday for passing an order over the rule, after hearing from the state, ACC, and other lawyers concerned.

On Tuesday, deputy attorney general AKM Amin Uddin represented the state while lawyer Khurshid Alam argued for the ACC and lawyer Abdun Nur for the Bangladesh Bridges Authority.