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The Financial Express

Most accused in Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant scam out on bail

| Updated: July 09, 2021 17:58:54


File photo used for representational purpose. (Collected) File photo used for representational purpose. (Collected)

Most of the accused in the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant corruption cases have been granted bail as the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) could not submit investigation reports within the time.

However, the special court in Pabna stated that the offences described in the cases were serious and filed under non-bailable sections of the law.

It passed a series of bail orders in the cases in June.

Senior special judge Md Asaduzzaman said investigators failed to complete the probe within the time stipulated or within the extended time as described in the Durnity Daman Commission Ain-2004.

The investigators failed to comply with the High Court (HC) that directed to conclude the investigation in time.

It is also uncertain when the investigation will be completed as the Covid-19 pandemic is continuing across the world, according to the bail orders.

ACC senior counsel Khurshid Alam Khan said, "A total of four cases were filed over the scam and about 20-25 people were made accused in these cases. Of them, 15-20 accused were granted bail by the special court."

"We'll file revision petition against the bail orders passed by the special court. Because the ground on which the special judge granted them bail is fragile."

"It's not mandatory to complete the investigation within the stipulated time as described in the law… So, the judge granted them bail on a wrong conception…," the lawyer said.

The ACC has already prepared the petitions against the bail orders of seven accused-Md Zahidul Kabir, Md Mostafa Kamal, Shafiqul Islam, Md Masudul Alam, Aminul Islam, Ahmed Sazzad Khan, and Md Tareq.

The cases are under investigation. Some accused came to the HC for bail but it rejected all prayers except one.

On October 19 last year, the HC in that exceptional order asked the ACC to complete the investigation within six months.

But the investigation could not be completed due to coronavirus pandemic, Mr Khan said, adding that the probe reports are almost ready which might be submitted within a short time.

The ACC sued 20-25 persons on December 12, 2019, with its Pabna district office on charges of irregularities involving Tk 260 million in supplying furniture and household items to power plant officials.

According to several published reports, the prices of various items used to furnish the project's 966 flats for Russian engineers and others were abnormally higher than market prices.

The reports claimed that each pillow was bought for Tk 5,957 and the cost of carrying it to a flat was Tk 760.

An electric stove cost Tk 7,747 and the cost of carrying it from the ground floor to the top floor was Tk 6,650.

The price of an electric iron was Tk 4,154 and the carrying cost was Tk 2,945.

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