The Awami League government is taking full credit for the legal action being taken again the former police chief Benazir Ahmed on grounds of amassing wealth through illegal means. The party leaders are saying that no other party in Bangladesh has ever taken measures against persons in high government positions or against party MPs and ministers. Only the Awami League government has done so. Very good.
The question is, is the government really coming down hard on corruption, or is just eyewash? The government is under all sorts of pressure from the outside world and this is ostensibly a stern stance against corruption. During the anti-casino drive in 2019, the government ministers and MPs made similar statements. But later it was seen that this was no actual drive. Other than one or two persons, no one was really punished.
Alongside Benazir Ahmed, in recent times those whose names have created a stir on the political arena are former army chief General Aziz Khan, Awami League member of parliament Anwarul Azim who was killed in Kolkata, and the BASIC Bank former chairman Abdul Hye Bachchu. The media also reports on measures being taken against a number of mid-level former and serving government officials.
While the government is talking about all-out measures against corruption, what is the actual state of the country? The court has banned former additional superintendent of police Uttam Kumar Biswas from leaving the country due to allegations of illegally amassing wealth. Earlier, Prothom Alo had reported that there had been billion taka transactions in the bank account of an NSI official's wife. The NSI official, Akram Hossain, had assets outside known sources of income, amounting to Tk 67 million (Tk 6 crore 70 lakh).
Are the ones who have been caught or against whom cases have been filed, the only ones involved in corruption? Only after PK Halder left the country with a few billion taka did we learn that there was an embargo on his leaving the country. An arrest warrant was issued against Gulshan police station sub-inspector (SI) Sohel Rana only after he left the country. Both of them are being tried in Indian courts. The Bangladesh government is unable to bring them back, despite repeated letters to the Indian government.
Is it the same in the case of former IGP Benazir Ahmed? Some say he is in the country, some say he has left the country. Samakal on Thursday reported, "A mystery has arisen as to whether he is in the country or not."
A certain source says he is in Dubai along with his family. On Friday, quoting a source close to Benazir, Ajker Patrika said he left with his three daughters and wife by a Singapore Airlines flight on 4 May from Shahjalal International Airport. They are staying there for wife Zeeshan Mirza's medical treatment.
If the government was ignorant about so much wrongdoing by the top official of a force, that means those concerned are utter failures. And if the government was aware that the man used the power structure for unrighteous deeds, they why was legal action not taken against him then?
Prothom Alo Online reported on 31 May that following ACC's appeal, the court has ordered the assets of Benazir and his family to be seized. But before the court issued the orders, Benazir left the country on 4 May, according to sources in the law enforcement agencies.
Meanwhile, ACC has summoned Benazir Ahmed for interrogation on 6 June and his wife Zeeshan Mirza and their daughters on 9 June. ACC is investigating whether Benazir Ahmed has property in the US, Canada and the United Arab Emirates.
Supreme Court lawyer Omar Faruk sought an injunction on Benazir and his family from leaving the country. If Benazir isn't in the country, what's the point in imposing a ban on his leaving? After his departure it will be of no use to summon him to the ACC office for questioning. No one believes he will come back from Singapore to give a deposition at ACC. ACC has long been investigating him. The government could have slapped a ban on his leaving the country long ago if they so wanted.
There is debate in the political arena over liability for the corruption of the former police chief. Awami League says this is an individual's liability. The government will not take liability. BNP on the other hand says the government is the one that created these corrupt elements. So the government must take responsibility. On 30 May journalist Kamal Ahmed wrote in Prothom Alo that only if there is democracy is a government embarrassed by corruption at high levels.
If Awami League leaders talk about corruption during BNP's rule, then people will want to draw a comparison with the Awami League rule. They will want to see under which rule was more money siphoned out of the country, under which rule were more second homes made abroad
If anyone commits corruption or misuses power, the fundamental responsibility lies with the individual. But it must be seen, when he committed these misdemeanours, what was his position? If he carried this out while in an office of the state, then the government must take responsibility too.
If the government was ignorant about so much wrongdoing by the top official of a force, that means those concerned are utter failures. And if the government was aware that the man used the power structure for unrighteous deeds, they why was legal action not taken against him then? Many say that it is only after Benazir left the country that the government agencies woke up.
The sheer volume of assets that Benazir has allegedly amassed could in no way be acquired by anyone without Aladdin's lamp. He bought hundreds and hundreds of acres of land in Gopalganj and Madaripur to establish the Savanna Eco Resort and Natural Park. Members of the minority community were threatened and forced into selling that land to him, it has been learnt.
At a juncture when the political arena is all astir with Benazir and Aziz Ahmed's escapades, the Appellate Division's outgoing Justice Muhammad Abdul Hafiz made an important observation during a farewell reception on Thursday. He said, "Corruption has damaged all our achievements. The people are shocked at how salaried government officers and employees can own billions and billions of taka."
But those in power are not shocked. No remorse is apparent either. Awami League's election manifestos since 2008 have been talking about building a corruption-free country and about zero tolerance towards corruption. But the casino scam, Benazir Ahmed, PK Halder, Sohel Rana or two brothers in Faridpur grabbing land and making away with Tk 20 biilion (Tk 200,000 crore), give quite an opposite message.
If Awami League leaders talk about corruption during BNP's rule, then people will want to draw a comparison with the Awami League rule. They will want to see under which rule was more money siphoned out of the country, under which rule were more second homes made abroad.
* Sohrab Hassan is joint editor of Prothom Alo and a poet
* This column appeared in the print and online edition of Prothom Alo and has been rewritten for the English edition by Ayesha Kabir