A section of policemen in Bangladesh create bribe fund!

Some 230 cops in Barisal had created a joint fund of around Tk 77 lakh to bribe their superiors for promotion.

They had found out one of their bosses to mediate the matter and handed him over an amount from their collected money to accelerate the process of their promotion.

All was well until some of the cops complained to higher authorities, finding the process taking time longer than they expected.

After the exposure of the bribe fund, police authorities suspended 10 personnel of Barisal Metropolitan Police.

The suspended cops are: assistant sub-inspectors Anisuzzaman, Monir Hossain and Md Hanif; nayek Kabir Hossain; drivers Shahidul Islam, Bablu Jamaddar and Dolon Baral; ration-storekeepers Abbas Uddin and Arifur Rahman; and constable Tapas Kumar Mandal.

The man who allegedly mediated the matter is Zillur Rahman, deputy police commissioner of Barisal. He went on a leave three days ago.

“They were suspended for illegal money collection for promotion,” BMP Commissioner Shaibal Kanti Chowdhury said, adding the suspension order reached Barisal from police headquarters on Monday and it was executed the same day.

Executive Director of Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) Iftekharuzzaman welcomed the police move in identifying and suspending the “corrupt” police personnel.

“But suspension is not enough. It’s a temporary measure. They should be given exemplary punishment as per the law,” he told The Daily Star.

He also said the police administration has always been perceived as one of the top corrupt institutions.

According to the Global Corruption Barometer 2012, a global survey carried out by Transparency International, political parties and police are the most corrupt institutions in Bangladesh.

Iftekharuzzaman noted that usually this kind of corruption occurs at different levels. Proper investigation should be conducted to find if any other cops are also involved in the scam, he added.

According to BMP sources, collection of money for the joint bribe fund began in January.

Some 600 cops sat for departmental tests successfully in October last year and 230 of them passed the exams successfully and have been awaiting promotion.

And the money ranging from Tk 30,000 to Tk 50,000 was collected from each of the 230, they added.

According to the BMP commissioner, around Tk 77 lakh was collected and deposited under the fund.

Of the money, Tk 17 lakh was deposited with a joint bank account of ASI Anisuzzaman, nayek Kabir Hossain and Driver Bablu Jamaddar at Dutch-Bangla Bank’s Barisal branch.

The rest money was given to Zillur Rahman, he said.

Hearing the allegation of the “bribe fund”, BMP formed a three-member probe committee on June 13.

“We found the committee as we came to know about the bribe fund for promotion in service. And we found the allegation true,” said BMP Commissioner Shaibal Kanti Chowdhury.

The probe committee would submit report soon, he added.

Meanwhile, the police headquarters formed another probe committee on June 17. The committee called up Zillur Rahman, Bablu Jamaddar, Kabir and Monir to Dhaka.

“Before the probe committees and me, the accused admitted to their involvement in creating the fund to give to ministries concerned for promotion,” the BMP commissioner told this newspaper yesterday.

DC Zillur also acknowledged his role, he said.

This correspondent tried to talk to Zillur but his mobile phone was found switched off.

Contacted, Shoyeb Ahmed, deputy police commissioner (Headquarters) and head of the BMP-formed probe committee, said, “We have finished our investigation. We will speak about the matter before submitting the report.”