Thu 10 May 2007
Read it however you want, but Jalal Alamgir makes a very powerful case in his write up in DS today.
And if you’re still unsure about mala fide intent or want to uncover a tragic “conspiracy against the state,” this is where I suggest you look. After years of theft and abuse of power, our interest unquestionably is to secure justice, but some within the government are trampling the integrity of that effort by once again using it as a boxing arena to carry out their personal vendetta.
He has also launched a website as well. Particular highlight is the charges brought against him.
Mash’s take here which sums it up well.
Last time we highlighted it.
If you want to send your protest, go here
Also see Case against Adab officials.
May 10th, 2007 at 1:18 pm
According to the military government, the case against Mr. Alamgir is as follows:
“The IOs said he did not mention his savings balance of Tk 1.17 crore in six fixed deposit accounts with IFIC Bank Karwan Bazar branch.”
His son Jala Alamgir’s response:
“For the moment, leave aside the amount, which is tiny compared to the amounts implicated in corruption charges against others. Don’t inquire, for now, why the same government that is hunting down Dr. Alamgir has allowed seven businessmen to quietly return Tk 270 crores of “laundered money” and face no charges.
So basically since he extorted 1 crore which is very small compared to the 270 crore he should be deemd as innocent. C’mon give me a break.
He also mentions:
“While in jail, my father was told to prepare and submit within 72 hours a statement detailing his life’s income and assets, or risk seizure of his property. He was denied access to any of his documents or to lawyers. He was kept in darkness from sundown to sunrise. Still, he wrote down an estimate spanning 40-plus years, as best as he could from memory.”
Thats a lie, as he was not barred from seeing the lawyers. To mention how much asset or income I have I do not need to look back at 25 years of my life. I pretty much know very closely how much asset/money I have and even though the amount might not be exact to the cent but surely there won’t be a dicrepancy of th 1 crore.
I do not have anything against him, but to portray him as a “dhoa tulshi pata” is a bit of a stretch.
May 10th, 2007 at 1:36 pm
Obviously the previous comment shows that Tanim has not really read the article. Any reasonably successful person cannot (even I can’t) give an exact account of assets in 72 hours without access to accountants or lots of paperwork over. The entire process is laughable - as the government has not really followed due process at all.
Access to MKA has been limited, even his lawyers are not allowed sufficient time to see him to help prepare defense, and many of his existing lawyers have been threatened in the same manner journalists have been “advised” by the military CTG.
May 10th, 2007 at 1:40 pm
Tanim, do read a little further before jumping to conclusions. He is not charged with stealing or extorting the money. He is charged with incorrectly reporting the value at maturity of his FDRs held at IFIC bank. He estimated them to be worth Tk. 9 crore at maturity, they are apparently worth Tk. 11.2 crore at maturity.
You say:
If you own stocks, bonds and houses, do you know today within a 23% margin of error how much they are worth without looking at all your statements? I certainly don’t. That is why when I do my taxes, like most people, I have in front of me all my statements and tax papers.
The most ludicrous part of this case is that the very FDRs that he is accused of “hiding”, he has paid taxes on when they were up for renewal.
I smell a rat, and its a big one.
May 10th, 2007 at 1:42 pm
The argument against the military government is very clear.
a. they are not following due process, making special tribunals, making special ordinances that take away the safeguards any democratic society has
b. like any other authoritarian government, they are trying to take shortcuts (really, who wants the meddlesome independent courts to be involved when a person is guilty on suspicion)
c. the ctg has said “they will have the chance to prove themselves innocent in court” — note, “prove innocent”, the burden of proof has changed parties
and finally, like any other authoritarian government, they are trying to control the press, intimidating them through SMS and press advice to now publish certain items.
May 10th, 2007 at 1:45 pm
Correction to the previous post, the amounts I referenced should have been 1.17 crore taka and 0.9 crore taka (was thinking in millions and writing in crores!). The difference in what he reported to the ACC and the actual was about 27 lakh taka (about $39,000).
May 10th, 2007 at 3:30 pm
She said and it is a fact that Hasina & AW league wanted & managed to brought present CTG/Army ruler. There is nothing wrong with present CTG/Army. They are doing exactly what they do best. And they are just doing that. He should go to Hasina and ask her to do something.
May 10th, 2007 at 4:16 pm
This military backed CTG had instilled in us a sense of hope. The professed goals of eradicating corruption and bringing about a new political culture were indeed laudatory. No wonder it enjoyed massive public support - initially.
However, as the days go by, a feeling of disappointment is creeping in. There is the uncomfortable vibe that its sense of direction and focus are gone. The clearest indication of things gone wry was the ill-planned misadventure regarding the forced exile of the two begums. The CTG was forced to eat its own words. In fact they have inadvertently created a situation where a certain amount of sympathy is growing for the two netris.
This CTG has a very important role to play, and they must play it fairly. When known corrupt politicians like Sadeq Khoka continue to stay free, it is extremely unfair - in my opinion to jail a distinguished individual like Dr. Alamgir on a rather flimsy pretext.
It is cases like these that will ultimately lead to the undoing of this CTG. That would also mean that the dozens of super corrupt politicians and government officials will actually have to be let go. I think I echo the feelings of many when I say that should not happen.
We seek fairness and justice. Granted this government wants to create a sense of poltical non-alignment by bringing cases against an equal number of AL and BNP leaders. The fact remains that as long as no corrupt military officers (retired) are tried there will always remain questions about its honesty and integrity.
Before it is too late, this governemnt needs to get its policy straight. It needs to be just and fair in its dealings and handling of a really complex situation. People like Dr. Alamgir need to be let free at least on bail. It is ridiculous to even presume that he presents a national threat.
May 10th, 2007 at 4:56 pm
The only reason some corrupt politicians are still out of the military backed government’s dragnet is that they may have promised to desert their respective political parties and join any potential “clean” party that the military was (or maybe still is) planning to prop up. It’s the age old carrot and stick approach used by all military rulers.
It’s sad that people like Mr. Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir are being victimised while people like (Tariq Rahman’s friend) Gorki are set free because of their family connections with the military and their ability to pay back crores of stolen money.
The military backed government is not playing is fair.
May 10th, 2007 at 5:15 pm
Not a single case is proven against TZ. He will come back to haunt AWs misery.
May 10th, 2007 at 5:15 pm
Four policemen have been suspended for allowing Mr. Alamgir to speak to media (bdnews24.com). This follows the suspension of the Police Officers-in-Charge near the airport area on the day Sheikh Hasina arrived in Dhaka. That was followed by the filing of cases against thousands of unknown individuals. Where else in the world does a government file cases against thousands of unknown individuals? This government’s actions are becoming more and more inane.
May 10th, 2007 at 6:37 pm
Some commenters post saddens me. As it has been written many times before in DP, the demand has been mainly for due process, not we or they/Good or bad issue.
Everytime a blog is posted demanding due process, some commentators start partisan pre-judgements. The responders overwhelmingly try to throw an idea that this man is the good man and the others rotting in the jail are all bad. So I have no problems in others not getting due process as long as it is not me.
I wonder what would these commenters say if I posted a blog asking for due process for Mr Mamun who is in joint forces remand for an unprecedented and unbelievable one hundred some days.
May 10th, 2007 at 6:41 pm
270 crores “brought back” apparently by this government - who paid it, to whom and where is the money now?
May 10th, 2007 at 7:26 pm
Professor Alamgir’s argument seems to be that his father, the unique receiver of salams and other assorted sorts of respect from the “van drivers, fruit sellers, peons carrying files” should be exempted from the subjective and arbitrary ways of the present government. Not everyone else, mind you, not even the other AL people now in jail like Mohammed Nasim, let alone people from BNP. Just his father.
Does Professor Alamgir have anything to say about the heart patients under detention by the same government now? Anything about the pictures we saw yesterday about Amanullah Aman’s daughter being led away in tears? Anything? Ah, the silence is deafening.
It’s sad that Professor Alamgir makes such a good case, and then pretty much spoils it, by failing to make his plea for justice universal. He would have done much better to reflect on the fact that this symptom of wanting one thing for our own relatives, and another thing for everyone else in this country, has a huge, huge role in bringing us to the sorry state (not just in terms of the current government, but even more generally) that we are in today.
May 10th, 2007 at 7:39 pm
“Four policemen have been suspended for allowing former state minister Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir to speak to reporters when he was taken to a special judge’s court, a senior police officer said Thursday”
May 10th, 2007 at 7:50 pm
I have nothing against MK Alamgir and would urge for due process on dealing with his case, my only question is if the person would have been anyother person than MK Alamgir, would Drishtipat would put 3-4 posting on the same issues?
From the sons perspective, it is all fine because thats their father and they would try their best but from a non-resident Bangladesh organization as being non-partisan our stands again and again on one particular issue would make us linient to some vested interest.
If MK Alamgir would have just been an Civil Servant, I wouldn’t have said anything but he willingly get in to the politics and join his chosen political parties, which is his rights as a citizen of the country but we all know
politics is a different ball game and things are not always straight.
I have my suppport for the sons of MK Alamgir on their fight, but as an individual not as my organization and I would suggest the same to other non-resident organization.
Above statment is just my thought, please don’t come on attacking with gazeebo and tanks because have enough on the blogging world to answer first. Getting sick and tired of answering peoples attack.
thanks
Kawser Jamal
May 10th, 2007 at 8:05 pm
Mamun deserves a free and transparent trial, without his family member being threatend or kidnapped.
May 10th, 2007 at 8:06 pm
Rumi,
Spot-on. It’s simply terrible to see comments like this, especially on DP.
Asaad,
Sheikh Hasina brought on the CTG, which then tried to keep her out of the country? How does that even make sense? “He should go and ask her”? Even if SH was Prime Minister, how would that be legal? This is an article for DUE PROCESS, not further nepotism.
Reza,
Excellent post. Couldn’t agree with you more. But I’ll have to take exception to one thing. Granted I don’t live in Khoka’s constituency in Puran Dhaka, but isn’t that basically our problem? We all “KNOW” that some people are corrupt and others aren’t. Isn’t it about time we decided to let courts judge corruption BASED ON PROOF instead of judging it based on public perception? I’m sure if you ask around MKA’s constituency, you will find someone who KNOWS that he’s a corrupt man. That however is not evidence.
Good luck all with the campaign to ensure that MKA gets due process.
May 10th, 2007 at 8:22 pm
Khoka took a chance & tried a game to save himslef from CTG wrath. He did poor in 1st round and confirmed by KZ he needs to try other way to fight with KZs ‘infintie power’ which he used and enjoyed for years. Currently he claims to have 66 guys on his side to play the next round.
May 10th, 2007 at 9:00 pm
Is it absolutely impossible in Bangladesh to punish a culprit following due process? If not, then isn’t the due process being followed? Why this farce?
What actually is Dr. Alamgir’s fault? Being forgetful about the exact amount of his savings?
I am a Bangladeshi citizen, I pay tax to the government for my modest salary. I do not have any property,I only have 4 lac taka in an account,600 taka at another account,and some ornaments (which I do not wear) I received from my parents and husband’s family as wedding presents. I was abroad when it was time to submit last year’s tax. I downloaded the tax return forms from internet and tried to fill them in. But believe you me, its so complicated that I couldn’t fill it in properly. I didn’t know exactly how much gold I had, I didn’t know the cost of the jwellery, I didn’t know exactly how much money I had at that time, I didn’t know whether my car (a gift from my in-laws) was to be mentioned as my property or not (I’ve heard that according to the BD tax rules, even your TV, fridge, toaster, mobile phone, carpet, tea-set etc are all your ’shompod’. Correct me if I’m wrong.)
Later, I singed the blank tax return forms and sent them, along with my salary statement,to my dad by courier. He had to consult my cousin- a tax-lawyer - before filling in the forms and submitting them to the relevant tax office on my behalf.
So giving a statement for salary, assets, property,savings etc was not easy even for someone with a modest income like me. So, I do not find it heard to believe that Dr. Alamgir’s errors in the statement were due to miscalculation and was unintentional. After all, he was in jail, he is an elderly person, under tremendous stress and he didn’t have his tax related papers before him.
What kind of government punishes a senior citizen of the country for such errors? Are we talking about some legenary monarchy in Lanka, or ‘Moger Mulluk’? Oh, the Lankans and the Mogs are far better than us. Ok, Dr. MK Alamgir (or Mamun, or Moudud or whoever it is) is corrupt, but why can’t the govt follow due process?
Another thing, why does the chief adviser himself calls this caretaker govt as ‘military backed govt’? What does he mean by that? Every govt is backed by military. A government without the backing of the civil administration or the military is either a failed government or not a government at all. Dr- Fakhruddin is claiming that his govt is being run by the civil administration, at the same time he is adding it is ‘military backed’. The very use of the term ‘military backed’ by the chief adviser clearly proves who’s the boss. A government which is actually run by the civil administration does not need to mention about the military backing.
May 10th, 2007 at 9:05 pm
What I don’t get is who is after Mr. MKA? Is it army? Is it somone in CTG? Zafanoor wrote on another blog that this is part of effort to get rid of people in certain constituencies. I mean it looks like somone really wants to force MKA out of politics. Already there are so many gundas in our politics. You have a brilliant guy with phd who wants to enter politics, and some poeple so desperate to keep him out. I was in Bangladesh during 2001 elections. I heard from a lot of people that in his area there was big fraud and lot of minorities who’d ve voted for him but they were prevented from coming to the polling stations.
May 10th, 2007 at 10:23 pm
AsifY:
I appreciate your comments. I see where you are coming from and do share your concerns. I also agree with Rumi that our approach should basically be to criticize the wrong-doings as a whole and not focus on individual acts.
In a fair and independent judicial system, there would be no need to arrest people based on public perception alone. Public perceptions can be outright wrong and misleading. People should be answerable for specific criminal charges – if any. They would be considered innocent until proven guilty and they would certainly have the benefit of qualified legal support.
Fair prosecution of citizens requires two fundamental ingredients: well-qualified practitioners of law and a well defined criminal codex. What do we have in Bangladesh? Our judiciary is not independent and the composition of the bench is highly partisan. Worse, according to a recent report many judges are ill-qualified to fulfill that august and responsible role. To complicate things, we do not have stringent tax evasion or money laundering regulations. It is simply very difficult to prosecute someone the right way. So we find that we have problems on both counts.
Many in prosecution and police owe their current positions to nepotism of the worst kind. You can’t expect this judiciary to prosecute fairly. Under such conditions how does one control corruption.
Your options are really limited; you try to do it in a roundabout way. You start following the Stalinist principle – “find me a man and we will find a case against him”. Although I must clearly state that nothing like that is currently going on in Bangladesh.
This government wants to bring about radical changes in our political system and enjoys wide public support (still). It wants to introduce a new political culture where the honest and best representatives of our society will represent the masses. It wants to liberate us from a culture of corruption and nepotism where one’s ill gotten wealth tends to perpetuate his power.
In any major operation of this nature, it is inevitable that few innocent folks will get caught. The solution lies in identifying such cases rapidly and ensuring that they are neither maltreated nor unduly persecuted. People like Dr. Alamgir, official allegations against whom are flimsy at best, need to be given the benefit of the doubt and set free on bail. The CTG needs to form an appellate division of some kind with authority to dispense of such cases in a prompt fashion.
The problems faced by this government are numerous but this CTG has given the nation some hope. We do not want to relapse into our euphoric state of so-called “democracy” and give a free-hand to the demagogues and well-known politicos of yester years. We are a nation of 150 million people and there are certainly people who can serve us better. Following a thorough clean-up of our stables, I am sure we can look forward to better days ahead.
May 10th, 2007 at 10:52 pm
Reza,
I think it is important to point out wrong doing as a whole and also focus on individual cases. Individual cases are important because it brings the human dimension of atrocities into focus. It brings the larger wrong doing, which may be hard to grasp because statistics can sometimes be numbing, into a realm that people can identify with.
It is when we lose the individual amongst the many that human rights violators have finally won. Dr. Alamgir’s case is but a window into larger questions of due process - it highlights the lack of due process for all. Treating Dr. Alamgir’s case as if it is the exception to the rule would be a mistake. It is a symptom of the larger problem, as Rumi pointed out.
May 11th, 2007 at 3:37 am
A few people have asked why I’m writing about MKA and not about general problems of human rights and due process affecting the wider population. Tacit even says that my attempt to highlight my father’s case represents the problem with our country, that we are only concerned with our relatives.
First of all, highlighting a single case in no way takes away from the general trend. As Mash said eloquently, “it brings the human dimension into focus.”
Second, I’ve been writing about the general trend and the need to preserve due process and human rights since the beginning of mass arrests without charges. So it is incorrect to say that I’m not concerned about others. If you want, do read my most recent pieces on the issue:
“Wrong Turn for Our Rights,” The New Age, 11 April 2007, http://www.newagebd.com/2007/apr/11/oped.html
“Dilemmas of Drama, Trappings of Transparency,” The Daily Star, 19 March 2007, http://www.thedailystar.net/2007/03/19/d703191503129.htm
“Now Overdue: Why Rights to Due Process Should Be Restored,” The Daily Star, 4 March 2007,
http://www.thedailystar.net/2007/03/04/d703041501127.htm
Third, there is absolutely nothing wrong for a son to demand justice for his father.
In fact, we gave the CTG the benefit of the doubt. We waited three months before going public, hoping that due process will be restored, and that innocent people will be freed after the initial drive.
It is clear now that there are a lot of other sinister interests that are conspiring against justice, not just for MKA but for many many of the arrested. So we finally chose to bring out details of the persecution. Enough time has been wasted in jail, with just hoping but not acting.
It should be obvious that Dr. Alamgir’s is not an isolated case. But it is the case that I know the most intimately. By providing details of the case I hope to give a glimpse into the dire circumstances that many thousands others are facing.
As Rumi pointed out above, the person is the illustration; the real issue is the underlying big picture. The story is intended to show, in a way that numbers cannot, how due process is being destroyed. If a prominent economist faces this type of justice, imagine how the situation must be for the “ordinary pepole” that have been detained. We have resources that most others don’t. Many of the arrested don’t have access to relatives or lawyers, and many would not be able to afford one anyway. Thousands of families are going unfed because bread earners are languishing in jail without even knowing what they’ve done wrong.
May 11th, 2007 at 4:10 am
I want to approach all these corruption cases with an open mind, thinking that I may not know enough about the totality of evidence against each individual.
If indeed, as reported, the only thing against MKA is him not reporting some 1 crore Taka, rather than how he got this money, then the case against him seems rather flimsy. His defence seems quite plausible given that he was in jail. Adequate legal help is another contestable issue.
May 11th, 2007 at 5:15 am
I find it extremely hard to understand WHY the CTG, after showing so much genuinity in their goals, would botch their anti-corruption case against a senior official (MKA) - specially against a person who has had SENSITIVE high-profile HR abuse recorded against him, by previous (rogue) regimes, and thus risking their reputation in the goal.
So, I imagine there must be a situation of inefficiency and red-tape even in the accuse-and-trial process itself, of the army CTG forces, which we are herein describing as “due process”.
Basically, once somebody falls in the anti-corruption net, then getting out of it is apparently tougher than staying free!
In BD context however, where corruption was a nationwide culture, EVERYONE can be considered criminal - then why even MKA? why not everyone? Where nobody knew the boundaries of corruption and honesty, how can we accuse anyone? So, in theory, a date may be defined - from whence corruption would be clearly defined as crime. Before that timeline - all should be deemed innocent!
I dont know the full story of MK Alamgir - only the story from Dr Jalal, his son.
However, I would certainly appeal to the CTG to make special considerations ONLY for Mr. Alamgir, based on his previous experiences of HR abuse and his age.
May 11th, 2007 at 6:24 am
I am neither defending nor accusing MKA. The allegation against MKA is “he did not mention his savings balance of Tk 1.17 crore in six fixed deposit accounts with IFIC Bank Karwan Bazar branch”. Now before a fair trail we cannot call him criminal. The question is why he is confined for last 3 months before verdict? Why he refuse for bail?
I have a doubt that if anyone checks the asset statement given by 3 advisors of CTG (Moinul Hossain, Tapan Chowdhury and Geteara Shafia Chowdhury) to income tax authority will no matches the actual asset at their possession. Are they will confined several months without trial in future?
In comment 18 Asaad says “Khoka took a chance & tried a game to save himself from CTG wrath”. From a journalist I heard that the TRIO (Mannan Bhuiyan, Khoka and Babar) are doing many things behind the scene. They were the key decision maker of last 5 years. They were the responsible for volatile political situation and repression on opposition leaders and workers.
Assad also says “He did poor in 1st round and confirmed by KZ he needs to try other way to fight with KZs ‘infinite power’ which he used and enjoyed for years”. You are absolutely right. This trio never got their present respective position if BNP practices democracy. Lt Gen Mir Shawkat Ali said a smuggler became Home Minister only because he was close associates of Tareque. I am sure very soon all other most corrupt Ministers, MPs will talk in same language of Khoka. And after that, corrupt leaders of AL will sing the same song. I am not against anti corruption drive or reform in political party. But this anti-corruption drive or reform of political party will be never fruitful if the CTG try to do it through Mannan Bhuiya, Khoka, Babar or RATS (Razzak, Amu, Tofael, Surunjit).
In 19 Anon says “why does the chief adviser himself calls this caretaker govt as ‘military backed govt’? What does he mean by that? Every govt is backed by military. A government without the backing of the civil administration or the military is either a failed government or not a government at all”. You are absolutely right. I think army should protest this type of statements. Our patriotic army was always loyal and backed to all legitimate government.
May 11th, 2007 at 9:24 am
I wonder how a former high ranking government official can amass 1 crore (in just one account)after deducting all living expenses based on the government salary he received. i would think 1 crore is quite a large amount in our BD’s context and an amount one would remember if he was asked to account for (unless he has a larger amount in safe deposit box somewhere else).
a person’s current lifetsyle gives a clue as to how wealthy he or she is (the car he drives, the suits he wears, the food he eats, the house he lives in).
after becoming a politician, it became quite apparent that Mr Alamgir’s lifestyle changed dramatically for the better…frankly, i wouldnt be surprised if it was a result of spoils of politics…
all these accusations against these politicans who preach integrity and honesty are well known for corruption and yet there is no concrete evidence against them…such is the nature of their crimes.
May 11th, 2007 at 9:30 am
Azizul Islam says:
“why does the chief adviser himself calls this caretaker govt as ‘military backed govt’? What does he mean by that? Every govt is backed by military. A government without the backing of the civil administration or the military is either a failed government or not a government at all”. You are absolutely right. I think army should protest this type of statements. Our patriotic army was always loyal and backed to all legitimate government.”
sir, the CA said it was a’military backed government’ for the very same reason you said our army is a ‘patriotic’ one. isnt a national army supposed to be patriotic in nature?
May 12th, 2007 at 8:21 pm
Another son wrote about his father….and I recall the reaction amongst the readers here
Whether this son makes a powerful case is upto the reader to decide….what Asif S considers powerful may not rally be so for someone else…
This is Bangladesh we are talking about…the smoke and mirror game can be played by all
I think a couple of words was all I need to know in making my mind up….the fact that he feels one crore is a tiny sum…LOL
It is easy for the diaspora community to shed tears…but I doubt the people on the street in Bangladesh will shed much tears for any politician picked up by this CTG!
May 13th, 2007 at 4:16 pm
Regarding MKA’s case (my father), the question is not whether he has amassed wealth improperly (that is not a charge the government made). I know my father did not - not because he is my father, but because I know he worked hard at his job, and to complement his income (yes, government jobs do not pay enough at all), he wrote research papers, books and articles; got invited to lecture many many times at foreign universities and conferences (where the pay is better).
However, the entire manner in which the government is conducting the search violates all manners of due process. For example, in the US, if the IRS has a problem with an individual’s tax statement, it gives the individual 3 months to collect his records and present that to an independent arbitrator.
The IRS does NOT lock the person up first and say “give us your records in 72 hours”, and don’t talk with your accountant, threaten lawyers representing the accused, and setup special courts where rights are severely suppressed.
What the current CTG is doing is setting a dangerous precedent where the government can subvert due process and prosecute people while curtailing their rights to defend themselves. “Guilt on suspicion” and “Guilt by association” has always led to societies that are built on fear and injustice.
The CTG has missed a golden opportunity to introduce checks and balances in the government (which is one of the main reasons behind the ineptitude of Bangladesh government). More importantly it has actually reverted back the checks and balances that existed, by passing courts and by passing due process.
May 13th, 2007 at 9:44 pm
Mr Joy makes a good point above. Yes if you read the article or the governmnet’s charges, it says “failing to accurately submit wealth statement” or something like that. That definitely does not justify keeping MKA in prison without bail, esp. when that statement was made without any of his docs.
Sadly some people here (like #29, #27 etc) totally missed the point of the article and started making comments about MKA without even knowing anything about MKA’s finances. That’s the problem guys. Yes we got dudes like Tarik, Mamun, Falu, Dulu, these habijabi gundas getting visibly wealthy overnight, but non-corrupt people like MKA getting punished for political reasons because there’s just no due process.
btw, if you’re wondering, i’ve met MKA and been to his house in banani. It’s not like any high level politicans house in dhaka. it’s almost faling apart. The furniture is laughable. No wonder govt couldnt find any real charges. If this respectable man has made a lot of $$$ thru corruption, which I or anyone who knows him seriously doubt, there’s no sign of it in his life.
May 13th, 2007 at 9:48 pm
I wonder, maybe ABC can shed some light about why really MK Alamgir is being kept in jail? Someone in government or JF must hate him. ABC, any insights?
May 13th, 2007 at 11:42 pm
this trail of Mr alamgir is a complete farce! they will probably convict him and bar him from the next election. that seems to be the general’s plan at the moment. try to bar as many strong organizer of AL as possible and then keep them closely under their wings. today i have seen the same thing with mayor mohiuddin of chittagong. they are filing three more cases against him.. (plus jote shorkar gave him fourteen!)and to say the least they all centre around “lack of govt approval for three projects”. and most people in chittagong know mohiuddin chowdhury hardly bothered about the stupid permissions (red tapes as we all know it) and did evrything for the city to the best of his ability. they couldnt find any trouble with his personal wealth, so now they are going for “abuse of power”. all of these will fail… these ppl dont realise ppl had high hopes from them, and now they are ruinning it. about mayor mohiuddin, i have seen the guy from very close. hands on heart, he is the most honest men in his deeds as a politician. once i met this chinese guy in chittagong who offered mohiuddin a project and said they will give his family 10% share in it, and apparently he said, he was elected to serve people not his family. this guy had been trying to build a decent house to live for last 13 years! and still couldnt! the men is nearly dead because he works day and night for general people. they didnt even spare him. honestly speaking, these ppl are up to no good. i’m so frustrated…
May 15th, 2007 at 3:28 am
Palton Maidan,
I will cut and paste from Mash above:
“He is charged with incorrectly reporting the value at maturity of his FDRs held at IFIC bank. He estimated them to be worth Tk. 9 crore at maturity, they are apparently worth Tk. 11.2 crore at maturity.”
And this is not counting the house in Banani and all the little furniture….
Ho, ho, ho - One wonders how a civil servant and academic, even one that has taught abroad and published articles once in a while gets a hold of that kind of $$$.
Guilty or not is not for me to decide, but between u and me, u cannot convince me that a CSP/academic gets a hold of that kind of $$$ unless he is a nobel prize winner or holds a million patents or gets paid like Bill Clinton on his speaking tours…..
May 15th, 2007 at 3:34 am
Having said all that I think the fact that the CTG is arresting people and operating under the premise that you are guity unless you prove you are innocent is probably not fair. There has been plenty of discussion on this issue in this forum. Sure it is dissapointing to see, however having also been witness to the type of justice served by the past BNP and AL govt. (do we need any reminds there - Hello?!?!), no one is shocked by the actions of the CTG.
May 15th, 2007 at 3:38 am
According to Mash:
“He is charged with incorrectly reporting the value at maturity of his FDRs held at IFIC bank. He estimated them to be worth Tk. 9 crore at maturity, they are apparently worth Tk. 11.2 crore at maturity”.
Hmmm - unless u r a nobel winner, hold a zillion patents or command a speaking fee like Bill Clinton, which CSP/Academic turned politician is able to amass that kind of $$$.
I don’t need an answer from anyone - its a rhetorical question that I am sure all the blog readers can figure out for themselves…..
May 15th, 2007 at 4:33 am
Rahat, I wish you had read down a little further to comment #5:
Oops
May 15th, 2007 at 2:07 pm
Rahat (re. #34, #36 above), You say the CTG should not be presuming guilt. Absolutely. But aren’t you doing the exact same thing, assuming MKA’s guilt without even knowing his accounts?
If 44 years of savings, compounded at an average annual interest rate of 8%, comes to 1 crore or even 2 crore takas, what do you think the principal is, and the annual amount of savings needed is? Please do the math, and then see if the sum seems absurd.
Say someone, for example, saves just $500 a year on average. If you do that over 44 years at 8% interest, compounded only once annually, the end value comes to over $200,000 (1.4 crore takas). Start saving!
May 15th, 2007 at 6:38 pm
jalal dont bother with these people who seem to get pleasure out of praising anything the CTG does…right or wrong. with one escape route, “better then AL BNP”. an honest govt employee would have that type of savings after they retire. its not unusual. but they will make an issue out of it anyway. follow up on another mohiuddin, mayor mohiuddin of Chittgong, he nearly died in prison and the army officials didnt even take him to hospital when they realised he was unconsious. then they took him to hospital after the they saw it was getting out of control (first they took him to Chittagong jail from Bandarban!). tonite he was taken to Dhaka by road, and they wouldnt take him by air, becoz apparently they couldnt get a flight ticket! he had heart stroke and they simply blacked out the information! even his family is not allowed to see him! how cruel! i just saw the news and his wife was devastated. it looks like the army is on their way to kill that man. the chittagong dwellers are already getting impatient. i talked with many people today, feels like the whole city is angry and fuming. it will explode anytime if things go wrong with him. may be that is the lesson these guys need…
May 15th, 2007 at 7:11 pm
Mash,
Sorry I did not see your second post. Point noted.
Jalal,
The point I made was that its probably not fair that CTG is presuming guilt. I did also “infer” MKA’s guilt.
Why? The “progress” of Bangladesh over the last 2 decade and the role the politicians have played will leave any Bangladeshi jaded !!!(especially towards any politician - and yes I am generalizing).
I guess we will just have to see how this whole thing plays out over the coming weeks and months…
As for shamsuddin’s comment(s): I suggest he read the Q&A section on the CTG on the blog.
May 21st, 2007 at 9:52 pm
Just an FYI
Latest on Trial of MK Alamgir
Source: The daily star.
http://www.thedailystar.net/2007/05/22/d7052201011.htm
GRAFT CASES AGAINST EX-STATE MINISTERS
ACC Deputy Director Syed Iqbal Hossain in his capacity as the investigation officer yesterday submitted a supplementary charge sheet against former state minister Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir.
The defence opposed the submission as they argued that it was not placed in accordance with the time and procedure permitted by the law.
They also contended that the defendant was not given any opportunity to explain his circumstances to the ACC.
The court today will decide whether to accept the supplementary charge sheet.
Syed Rezaur Rahman, Shahara Khatun and Syed Haider Ali were among the counsel for the detained AL leader.
The case against Alamgir cites inconsistency between his statement and actual wealth. The anti-graft body found that the accused did not declare in his wealth statement Tk 1.17 crore that he has in fixed deposit accounts.
After the supplementary charge sheet, his undisclosed and under-estimated assets now stand at Tk 2.10 crore.
The ACC deputy director told the press that Alamgir did not disclose that he owns two houses in Katchua valued at more than Tk 57 lakh, an under-construction market estimated to be worth around Tk 29 lakh and a filling station Tk 24 lakh.
He also has three motor cycles valued over Tk 1.41 lakh. According to the Katchua registry office report, he owns lands worth around Tk 7.93 lakh.
The investigation officer added that Alamgir showed his Banani residence valued at Tk 8.25 lakh while the Public Works Department sets its current price at Tk 87 lakh. Similarly, his Tk 10 lakh asset in Comilla has been re-assessed at Tk 20 lakh.
Alamgir showed his bank balance to be Tk 90,000, whereas investigations found that the figure would be Tk 2.45 lakh.
July 11th, 2007 at 3:34 am
The special courts will give a verdict in the next couple of weeks.
This from today’s Daily Star:
http://www.thedailystar.net/2007/07/11/d7071101044.htm