Sundarganj OC transferred over 'bribery'

The officer-in-charge of Sundarganj police station in Gaibandha, Md Touhiduzzaman, has been transferred to Barishal Range police, over his alleged involvement in a bribery incident.

The transfer order was issued a few days ago, but the superintendent of police (SP) in Gaibandha disclosed the information to the media on Tuesday.

However, SP Md Touhidul Islam did not make it clear whether the allegation against the OC has been substantiated or not.

"The investigation findings have been sent to the high ups," he told the media.

The development came to light after an audio clip went viral on social media where the OC was heard taking bribes from two of the three accused in a case in exchange of dropping their names from the charge sheet.

But OC Touhiduzzaman, investigation officer (IO) of the case, excluded one of the two while pressing charges before the court in January this year, which made the other accused aggrieved. He phoned the OC and asked him to refund the amount.

An audio clip of their conversation got leaked and went viral in social media, triggering a huge public outcry.

Prothom Alo carried a report on the viral clip on 15 March. He was withdrawn and attached to Gaibandha police lines at night on the same day. Later, the authorities assigned additional superintendent of police (ASP) Abdul Awal to investigate the allegation.

Meanwhile, the Gaibandha court sent back the charge sheet to the IO for making necessary corrections. Later, a fresh charge sheet was submitted to the court against all three accused in the case on 6 March.