Sharif Uddin, the deputy assistant director of the Anti-Corruption Commission who came into the spotlight by investigating corruption and irregularities including the issuing of NID cards to Rohingya refugees, has been fired.
Sharif Uddin had previously filed a general diary with Khulshi Police Station over claims he received ‘death threats’ and ‘threats to remove him from his job.’ Within 16 days of filing the diary, the ACC issued a notice removing him from his post.
The notice said his removal would be effective from the day the instruction was issued and added that he would receive his salary and benefits for 90 days, reports bdnews24.com.
Sharif Uddin claimed he had sparked the anger of an ‘influential quarter’ which led to his firing without prior notice and called the decision to remove him ‘unconstitutional.’
“I worked in Chattogram for three and a half of the seven years of my employment. I may have made some mistakes, but I haven’t done anything unethical to lose my job,” he said.
Sharif Uddin’s colleagues were angered by his firing and a group of them held a human chain protest outside the ACC office on Thursday.
ACC Chairman Md Moinuddin Abdullah said the corruption watchdog was forced to fire the official because of his own actions.
“He was involved in such irregularities that the authorities had to remove him directly, without prior notice,” the ACC chairman said without providing the details of what kind of ‘irregularities’ Sharif Uddin had taken part in.
The Anti-Corruption Commission (Staff) Policy 2008 enables the authorities to remove a staff member without giving a reason by paying 90 days’ salary or providing 90 days prior notice.
Sharif Uddin had previously worked as a deputy assistant director at the agency in Patuakhali. Before that, he was posted in Chattogram for three and a half years.
He was the plaintiff in the ACC cases filed against Election Commission officials over the inclusion of Rohingya people in voter lists and issuing them NID cards last June.
He also came into the limelight after filing cases against the ward councillor of Chattogram City Corporation, union council chairmen in Chattogram and Cox’s Bazar, and policemen over the issue.
Sharif Uddin probed different complaints against Karnaphuli Gas Distribution Company (KGDCL) over illegal gas connection shifting and installing new connections. He filed cases naming higher-ups in the KGDCL and Mujibur Rahman, son of Nurul Islam, the former minister for expatriate welfare and overseas employment on Jun 10 last year.
After filing some sensational cases between Jun 10 to Jun 17, Sharif Uddin was transferred from Chattogram to Patuakhali. That transfer order also became a matter of much discussion.
Sharif Uddin had been transferred as part of regular office policy, the ACC had said at the time. He was fired within eight months from that transfer order.
He had begun probing allegations of corruption at Chattogram Medical College Hospital, an investigation that is yet to be completed.
Though he was posted in Patuakhali, Sharif’s family lived in Chattogram. On Jan 30, Sharif Uddin filed a general diary with Khulshi Police Station claiming a Petrobangla official went to his family and ‘threatened to kill them.’
After losing his job, Sharif Uddin says he is worried about his and his family’s security.
“The firing is completely unconstitutional. The commission has launched a probe against me and I have responded to those accusations satisfactorily. After I was transferred from Chattogram, I told the commission that an influential quarter is working against me.”
Sharif Uddin said he recommended the indictment of 155 government officials, police officers, and political personalities over a corruption case involving land acquisition worth Tk 35 million in Cox’s Bazar.
“I recommended filing 10 cases against the KGDCL and filed one case naming some officials and the son of an MP. I unmasked many people while investigating the health sector in Chattogram and recommended that five cases be filed.”
This work has drawn the ire of an influential quarter who threatened to fire him within a week, said Sharif Uddin.
“And the order came 16 days after that.”