When Yeafesh Osman was science and technology minister during the Awami League government, his son Eshrar Osman carried out contracts of two agencies under the ministry.
Eshrar's company ScITech Consulting and Solutions secured the contracts as a consulting agency.
People concerned said it constitutes a conflict of interest for the minister's son to undertake contracting work at companies under his father’s jurisdiction.
According to the website of ScITech Consulting and Solutions, the firm was established in 2018, when Eshrar's father Yafesh Osman was a minister.
The website mentions two consultancy projects, both associated with agencies under the science and technology ministry. One is the Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR) and the other is the National Institute of Biotechnology (NIB).
In 2021, a project for genome sequencing in animals was initiated at NIB with a budget of Tk 500 million. The design and supervision of this project were awarded to Eshrar Osman's firm. It is alleged that the then-director general of NIB, Mohammad Salimullah, facilitated the awarding of this contract to the minister's son.
There are more allegations against Mohammad Salimullah. Yafesh Osman had appointed him as director general, which reportedly did not adhere to procedures.
Eshrar Osman's company is a new one, and he serves as its managing director. Samir Uzzaman is the chairman.
Sources said they have received two projects worth Tk 100 million at BCSIR and NIB, with each project valued at Tk 50 million.
During the minister’s term, there was a surge in the establishment of laboratories for genome sequencing and related tasks, with several additional projects in the pipeline.
The office of ScITech Consulting and Solutions is located in Banani, Dhaka. When contacted, an official named Subrata Sharma told Prothom Alo that they currently have no ongoing projects and that Eshrar Osman is presently in Australia.
In 2021, a project for genome sequencing in animals was initiated at NIB with a budget of Tk 500 million. The design and supervision of this project were awarded to Eshrar Osman's firm. It is alleged that the then-director general of NIB, Mohammad Salimullah, facilitated the awarding of this contract to the minister's son.
Following the fall of the Awami League government amid the student-people's uprising, Yafesh Osman has also gone into hiding.
Attempts were made to contact him over phone, but he was unavailable. He became the state minister for science and technology after the Awami League came to power in 2009. Later he became the full minister. He has served in this ministry across all four terms of the Awami League government.
Meanwhile, sources at NIB said that Yafesh Osman brought Mohammad Salimullah from Japan in 2013 and directly appointed him as the chief scientific officer at NIB.
Within just one year and seven months, he was appointed as the acting director general. He continues to hold this additional responsibility, and no permanent appointment has been made there in all these years.
According to the policy of the ministry of public administration, if an officer performs current or additional duties in an organisation for more than six months, approval from the finance division must be obtained. However, Md Salimullah did not seek consent from the finance division.
In 2010, the National Institute of Biotechnology (NIB) was established on 11.5 acres of land in Savar. It is an independent research institute in biotechnology. Officials of the organisation state that it is unprecedented for a director general to hold an 'additional responsibility' in an organisation for almost 10 consecutive years.
NIB officials have raised concerns that the terms and conditions in the tender have been set in such a way that Eshrar's organisation is favored to receive the contract. They have also questioned the publication of Salimullah's scientific articles.
From 2001 to 2013, he published 22 scientific articles. Since assuming the additional charge of NIB director general in 2015 until 2024, Salimullah has co-authored 90 articles with his wife, Chaman Ara, which is unusual. All of these articles have been published from NIB.
More irregularities
NIB's chief scientific officer, Keshab Chandra Das, and senior scientific officer, Muslima Khatun, have been pursuing their PhDs at Dhaka University under the Bangabandhu Science and Technology Fellowship since the 2020-21 financial year. Their PhDs are scheduled to be completed next December.
The fellowship policy stipulates that recipients must be full-time researchers and on sabbatical during this period. While on leave, they served as directors for two projects worth Tk 470 million and Tk 330 million, respectively.
Keshab Chandra Das stated on Tuesday that he took study leave in March 2020, just as the coronavirus began to spread across the country, causing the education programme to be halted. Despite this, he managed to work on both his PhD and project work simultaneously. As part of the fellowship, he receives Tk 40,000 per month.
There are numerous complaints within NIB, including issues related to employee recruitment, the rental of personal vehicles for projects, and irregularities in the preparation of the seniority list.
Professor Shahedur Rahman of the biotechnology and genetic engineering department at Jahangirnagar University told Prothom Alo that the Institute of Biotechnology has not performed to the extent expected in the context of the country.
He noted that it has not developed as an institution. He mentioned that many people are aware of the irregularities associated with the current director general, which often occur when one is in charge of an organisation for an extended period.