ACC enquires into allegations against former DC, OC
As part of the enquiry, the ACC sought salary information and other details of the two officials from the police headquarters
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has launched an enquiry into allegations of illegal occupation of wealth and irregularities against a former deputy commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) and a former officer-in-charge.
The police officials are Ibrahim Khan, former deputy commissioner of DMP's Wari division (now suspended and attached to the police headquarters), and Shahidur Rahman, former officer-in charge of Bangshal Police Station (now an inspector of the west division of DMP's detective branch).
As part of the enquiry, the ACC last month sought salary information and other details of the two officials from the police headquarters.
Ibrahim and Shahidur also face money laundering allegations.
Two deputy directors of the ACC – Jalal Uddin Ahammed and Muhammad Shihab Salam – have been made the coordinators of the enquiry team.
"We are investigating the matter seriously but we are not allowed to disclose any details. The ACC will brief the media once the enquiry ends," Jalal told The Business Standard.
Shihab declined to make any comment on the probe.
Pranab Kumar Bhattacharjee, ACC spokesperson and deputy director, said the enquiry team would interrogate the two police officials about obtaining wealth through illegal means and irregularities.
Requesting anonymity, An ACC deputy director said it is still not certain whether Ibrahim laundered money abroad or transferred to the account of family members.
Another source said Ibrahim took money by extortion from different business owners and institutions in Wari.
On condition of anonymity, an official of the rank of superintendent of police at the police headquarters said the ongoing investigation had found Ibrahim's involvement in several irregularities.
He said, "Ibrahim made his wife, Dr Urmi Khan, the director of several hospitals and clinics in Wari area. She would use her husband's professional identity to extort money from those businesses."
The ACC enquiry team also came to know about Ibrahim's luxurious apartment worth over Tk3 crore in the capital's Bailey Road area.
"He used to say that the apartment was rented but we learned that he bought it after joining the Wari division as the deputy commissioner," the ACC source said.
Ibrahim's suspension
Ibrahim was suspended for helping local land grabbers occupy a piece of land owned by a freedom fighter's family in the capital's Lalbagh area.
The Ministry of Home Affairs issued a gazette in this regard on August 26.
"On September 28 last year, a group of land grabbers, led by two brothers Sheikh Jabed and Shiekh Abed, evicted the family members of AKM Shahidullah, brother of martyred intellectual AKM Shamsul Alam Khan, from their two-storey house," DMP Joint Commissioner (crime) Shaikh Nazmul Alam told The Business Standard.
Shamsul was serving as the deputy commissioner of Cumilla mohkuma when he was killed by the Pakistani occupation forces. After the independence, his mother got four kathas of land from Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in Lalbagh.
Shahidullah then built the building on the land and started living there with his family.
In collusion with Ibrahim, local land grabbers demolished the building to construct a multi-storey shopping mall.
Shahidullah's family went to Bangshal Police Station to file a case in this connection, but were allowed to mention only allegations of petty theft in the lawsuit.
They then filed a complaint with Inspector General of Police Dr Mohammad Javed Patwary, claiming that Ibrahim had allowed the group to grab the land in exchange for money.
After getting the complaint, the inspector general directed the DMP to launch an investigation.
A four-member probe body led by Shaikh Nazmul Alam completed the probe and found Ibrahim guilty.
The Home Ministry took the decision to suspend him. After his suspension, the police headquarters also formed a probe body to further investigate his irregularities.
The police headquarters said Ibrahim would be subjected to punitive measures if the probe body finds him guilty after the final investigation is done.