13 land in jail over Rooppur housing project scam

A Dhaka court on Thursday sent 13 people to jail in four separate cases filed over their alleged involvement in procurement irregularities at a housing project for Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant in Pabna.

Metropolitan Magistrate Nivana Khair Jessi passed the order after rejecting their bail pleas in the cases.

Earlier, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) arrested 13 persons, including prime accused Masudul Alam, former executive engineer of Pabna Public Housing Division, from Segunbagicha area in the capital on Thursday afternoon.

The other accused are deputy assistant engineers – Md Jahidul Kabir and Md Shafiqul Islam; deputy divisional engineers – Ahmed Sazzad Khan, Tahajjud Hossain, and Mostafa Kamal; Estimator and Deputy Assistant Engineer Shumon Kumar Nandi; assistant engineers – Md Tareque, Aminul Islam, Abu Syed, Rowshan Ali and Majid; Owner of Sons Construction Limited Asif Hossain; and Owner of Sazin Construction Limited Md Shahadat Hossain.

ACC Deputy Director M Nasir Uddin arrested them after filing four separate cases against them over the embezzlement of Tk31 crore, said ACC Chairman Iqbal Mahmood.

Earlier, the government had launched an inquiry into the abnormally high prices of articles being used to furnish apartments in buildings at Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant housing project. 

Two probe committees -- one belonging to the Public Works Department and the other to the Public Works Ministry --were formed on May 19.

On May 22, the PWD withdrew Masudul Alam, who was in charge of the housing project. He was later attached to the PWD headquarters in Dhaka.

According to a news report published in a Bangla daily stirring controversy and strong criticism especially on social media, a single pillow was bought for Tk5,957, and the cost to move that to the apartment was Tk760.

An electric stove reportedly cost Tk7,747 and the movers were paid Tk6,650 to move it upstairs from the bottom floor.

An electric kettle was bought at Tk5,313, and its moving cost was Tk2,945, and an electric iron bought at Tk4,154 was moved upstairs spending Tk2,945.