The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

In spite of a high-level inquiry committee recommending necessary legal action against six officials of the Department of Cooperatives (DoC) for their involvement in misappropriating more than three crore taka of a cooperative society some two months ago, no step has so far been taken against them.

Sources concerned said that the DoC under the Ministry of LGRD and Cooperatives has now turned into a den of pervasive corruption where no work is done or no file moves without bribes.

It is learnt that owners of the residential houses at Tolarbagh area under the city's Mirpur Police Station formed a 101-member Tolarbagh Cooperative Society Ltd back in 2002 and later got registration (No. 456) from the district cooperative office concerned. Each of the members had been depositing Tk 1,100 to the cooperative society every month and they deposited more than Tk 75 lakh as savings deposits over the last five years. In addition, Tk 25-30 lakhs were deposited as shares.

Besides, four high-rise buildings were constructed purchasing lands at Tolarbagh area through the cooperative society and apartments and shops of the buildings were sold. The cooperative society received Tk 1-1.5 crore by selling these apartments and shops.

But, three members-former president Khorshed Alam, former secretary Abdus Sattar Rafique and former tresurer Mozammel Huq Khan of the managing committee of the cooperative society misappropriated crores of taka of the cooperative society in connivance with each other.

Later, the Tolarbagh Cooperative Society members submitted a prayer to the Registrar of the DoC seeking necessary steps against the corrupt persons and a Deputy Registrar was given the responsibility to submit a report investigating the matter. Learning about the step of such an inquiry, the corrupt members of the cooperative society managed to carry out an audit of the cooperative society's accounts bribing a section of dishonest officials of the DoC. The corrupt members also lobbied for conducting an election of the cooperative society instead of carrying out the investigation by a four-member interim committee of the DoC formed by the Registrar. The Registrar also asked the interim committee to suspend the election unless and until the investigation was completed and ordered them to extend all-out cooperation to the investigation officer of the DoC. During the inquiry the investigation officer found the involvement of six officials of DoC in misappropriation of funds in connivance with three corrupt members of the cooperative society.

Later, the Investigation officer, who is also the Deputy Registrar submitted a 13-page report to the Registrar recommending necessary legal action against six officials of the DoC. These six officials are: Kazi Mesbah Uddin Ahmed (Assistant Registrar, DoC), Abdul Aziz Howlader (Inspector, District Cooperative Office, Dhaka), Abu Zafar Mia (Metro, Thana Cooperative Officer, Mirpur, Dhaka), Md Alauddin Mia, Inspector, District Cooperative Office, Dhaka, Md Harun-ar-Rashid, Inspector, District Cooperative Office, Dhaka and Md Jahangir Alam, former Assistant Inspector, Metro, Thana Cooperative Office, Mirpur, Dhaka.

In his inquiry report, the investigation officer of DoC recommended to realise the misappropriated Tk 3.11 crore from the corrupt DoC officials.

Though one and a half months have passed after submitting the inquiry report, no action has so far been taken to recover the misappropriated amounts of Tolarbagh Cooperative Society Ltd neither from the corrupt officials of DoC nor from the corrupt members of the society.

Sources at the Department of Cooperatives said a vested interest in the DoC is now trying to protect the corrupt officials despite the proof of misappropriation of funds against them was found by the Deputy Registrar.