The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

The Anti-Corruption Commission yesterday interrogated detained former Energy State Minister AKM Mosharraf Hossain at Dhaka Central Jail gate in connection with the container handling case filed against detained former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia and 12 others.

Detained former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia is likely to be quizzed next week in connection with the container handling case filed against her by the Anti-Corruption Commission. “The investigation officer is likely to file a petition in a day or two to allow him to question and take a statement from the detained former Prime Minister. If permited, it’ll happen sometime next week at the sub-jail,” a competent source told newsmen.

Another former minister for Health and Family Welfare Dr Khandakar Mosharraf Hossain now in Central Jail would be interrogated today in this connection, ACC sources said.

According to ACC sources, AKM Mosharraf Hossain was brought to Dhaka Central Jail from Kashimpur Jail in Gazipur for interrogation. He was later sent back to Gazipur last night

Deputy Inspector General of Prison (DIG-Prison) Maj Shamsul Haider Siddique told The New Nation, “The former state minister was brought to Dhaka and was produced before the CMM Court in connection with another case. Later, we brought him to the Central Jail for ACC’s interrogation.”

The ACC team started the interrogation from 4.30pm that continued till the time of Iftar.

A three-member interrogation team comprising ACC Deputy Director Zahurul Huda, investigation officer of the case, Taskforce-23 officer Maj Mostafa Kamal and CID inspector of Taskforce-23, Nurul Islam, interrogated the former state minister for over an hour.

Earlier, the ACC also interrogated five former ministers and seven bureaucrats at its Segunbagicha office. The ministers were interrogated, as they were the members of the Public Procurement Commitee, which approved the tender in favour of Global Agro Trade Company Ltd (GATCO).

The bureaucrats were interrogated as they had prepared the papers in this regard.

Earlier, the ACC had summoned eight former ministers and eight bureaucrats. But it could not interrogate former Commerce Minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury and former bureaucrat Zakir Ahmed yet, as both are out of the country.

Former Finance Minister Saifur Rahman, former LGRD Minister Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan, former Industries Minister and Jamaat Islami Bangladesh chief Motiur Rahman Nizami, former Agriculture Minister MK Anwar and former Information Minister Shamsul Islam have already been interrogated by the ACC.

The bureaucrats who appeared before the ACC were former Cabinet Secretary Dr Sa’daat Hossain, who is now the Public Service Commission (PSC) Chairman, former Shipping Secretary Zulfiker Haider Chowdhury, former Economic Relations Department (ERD) Secretary Mirza Tasadduk Hossain Beg (retired), former Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Department (IMED) Secretary Manik Lal Samaddar (retired), former Energy Secretary Nazrul Islam (retired), former Secretary of the Prime Minister’s Office Nurul Islam (retired) and former Joint Secretary of the Cabinet Division ATKM Ismail.

Zahurul Huda, the IO of the case, has already had a telephonic conversation with the former Finance Secretary Zakir Ahmed and asked him to send his statement in writing to the investigation team through the Bangladesh Embassy in US.

On September 2, ACC Deputy Director Golam Shahriar Chowdhury filed the case against BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, her younger son Arafat Rahman Koko and 11 others for alleged irregularities in awarding the contract for container handling to GATCO.

BNP Chairperson and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, her son Arafat Rahman Koko and nine other accused have so far been arrested by the ACC in this connection.