Jaynal Abedin was an office clerk at an election commission (EC) office. His wife Anisun Nahar was a housewife. The duo had no alternative legal earning sources. However, they were millionaires. They possessed five-storey building and land as well as having bank savings with millions of taka. Overall, the couple owned illegal assets worth more than Tk 7.5 million.
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) unearthed the information while investigating a case against Jaynal Abedin who has been suspended from EC’s Double Mooring office in Chattagrom city.
According to ACC investigation, Jaynal and his wife amassed millions of taka by providing Rohingya people with national identity card (NID) in exchange of money. In his deposition, Jaynal admitted his involvement with the illegal task.
ACC on Monday submitted a charge sheet to a court, accusing the couple–Jaynal and Anisun Nahar for amassing wealth through illegal means.
The prosecution lawyer Mahmudul Haque told Prothom Alo that the Chattogram session court fixed 21 September the day for hearing on the charge sheet. There are three under-trial cases filed against Jaynal and one against Anisun Nahar. At present, Jaynal is on bail while his wife is on the run.
On 22 August 2019, EC officials traced the NID forgery. That day, one certain woman named Lucky went to the Chattogram district EC office to collect a smart NID. EC officials found her suspicious. While interrogated, Lucky said she belonged to the Rohingya community and tried to have an NID in exchange of money. Prothom Alo published a report on the matter.
Law enforcement agencies, later, traced that Jaynal and his associates were involved in NID fraudulence. On 16 September that year, police arrested Jaynal and seized a laptop of EC from his possession. Based on the arrest, EC filed cases with the Kotwali and the Double Mooring police stations. Criminal investigation department (CID) of police is investigating the Double Mooring case while the counter terrorism unit of police is probing the Kotwali case. Besides, ACC on 1 December 2019 filed a case against Jaynal and his wife allegedly for amassing assets illegally.
Jaynal Abedin came from Ashkariapara at Dakshin Jaldin under Banshkhali upazila, Chattogram. His father used to work as a fisher at fishing trawler. Jaynal, as an office clerk, joined EC’s Chattogram office in November 2004.
According to the charge sheet submitted by ACC, Jaynal started his job with Tk 5,960 salary scale. Until he was caught, he drew Tk13,900 as monthly salary. During his whole career life at EC, Jaynal earned Tk 2,246,900. If Tk 1,797,520–his family expenditure–is deducted from the earning, Tk 449,380 would have remained as the family’s bank savings. But, in reality, the couple possessed assets worth Tk 76,30,763. Of the assets, Jaynal and Anisun owns a five-storey building on a seven-decimal land. The building construction cost was Tk 6,126,841.
The couple holds five bank accounts with Tk 233,348 savings, ACC found.
ACC assistant director at Chattogram office, also the investigation officer, Ratan Kumar Das, said that Anisun has been escaping arrest from the beginning.
ACC sources said that Jaynal charged Tk 5,000 from each Rohingya person for NID. Before the court, Jaynal admitted that he himself provided 1,840 Rohingya persons with NID.
Jaynal did not respond to Prothom Alo’s phone calls. Later, the defence lawyer Azizur Rashid said Jaynal has become a victim of conspiracy.
While enquired about Jaynal’s source of earning the assets worth Tk 7,630,763, Azizur replied he would answer the question in the courtroom.
Citizen platform Sushashoner Jonno Nagorik’s (SHUJAN) Chattogram chapter secretary Akhter Kabir Chowdhury observed that it was not possible for Jaynal to commit such corruption alone.
“The people backing the corrupt office clerks like Jaynal must be brought to book,” Akhter Kabir Chowdhury told Prothom Alo.