The New Nation - Internet Edition

As reported in the media, about 1500 old and dead corruption cases initiated during the last two decades by the defunct Bangladesh Bureau of Anti-Corruption (BAC) and the recently abolished anti-corruption commission, may be revived by the present Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC). These cases have been stayed by the High Court on review or writ petitions. It is alleged that these corruption cases involved mostly the complicity of politicians, bureaucrats, high defence and police personnel, engineers and businessmen.

The reported revival of the old and insignificant corruption cases seems to have evoked curiosity and held out an unnecessary spread of panic.

The ACC should now be concerned with the high profile corruption cases for the greater interest of cleansing politics for future honest government. ACC must not waste its valuable time on petty cases. People must not blame it for an obsession with corruption cases of any kind.

The anti-corruption law has been amended to help ACC speedily dispose of the big corruption cases. Yet the observers are expressing dismay at slow progress with big corruption cases.

The country already witnessed tough anti-corruption drives by the present independent ACC. 222 high-profile corrupt suspects have already been identified. Only a few of them have been charge-sheeted and inquiries against most others are still pending. Some have been convicted. The list of two hundred twenty-two corrupt suspects may result in at least as many cases, and these are yet to be made ready for trial. The proposed revival of the old and unimportant cases seems to have raised a genuine concern about creating obstruction to the present caretaker government in sucessfully realising the main objective of punishing those who hoped to remain above the law.

We genuinely feel, the revival of the dead and petty cases of corruption may not help strike a balance between governing and the needed purging. The present anti-corruption drives were specifically directed against those who by abuse of political power misappropriated huge public funds and property, extorted money from private sources and created an anarchic political situation. Such cases are not going to be easy to prove in a court of law. We do not want to see ACC fail in preparing itself sufficiently for proving beyond doubt these highly important and difficult cases.