Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus has ordered the formation of a committee, which will include three advisors, to probe allegations of corruption against Public Administration Secretary Md Mokhlesur Rahman, says Adviser Sharmin Murshid.
The decision was taken at an interim cabinet meeting on Thursday, she said at a press conference at the Ministry of Social Welfare.
Asked whether there had been discussions about the allegations that Mokhlesur had accepted bribes for the appointment of deputy commissioners, she said:
“If you look at the clip that went viral on social media, regular people cannot tell how much of it is AI produced and how much of it is real. The immediate decision has been to investigate its technical integrity. The cabinet has spoken on the matter. It has to be investigated and we will, of course, investigate it.”“No irresponsibility of any kind will be accepted amongst the officers in our administration with the highest responsibilities,” she said. “We must and will get this under control.”
Asked what the chief adviser’s comments were on the matter, Sharmin said:
“The adviser gave instructions on the matter. We will look into it by forming a committee. The chief advisor is of course concerned. Why wouldn’t he be? Someone said something like this about a high-ranking official. We must investigate what the source is. We are no longer in the old analogue era. As a result, one of the difficulties is that whatever comes up on social media spreads quickly and everyone takes that as true. We must verify it.”
“A committee has been formed. The committee will investigate it. The information adviser, the law adviser, and the home adviser will be on the committee. They can also add others to the panel.”
Asked whether the panel was formed at Yunus’s instructions, she said: “He was the one who told us to form it. He told us to investigate.”
Public Administration Secretary Mokhlesur Rahman on Thursday ruled the allegation of taking bribe for the appointment of new deputy commissioners.
A Bangla daily carried out ran two reports about claims that financial transactions had been made surrounding the appointment of deputy commissioners.
The second report published on Thursday focused on the conversation of the public administration secretary and the joint secretary on WhatsApp.
Hours after the news, the public administration secretary faced the media and termed the news baseless.
“I have a Samsung phone, while the one showed was an iPhone. Ask them about what they published. I have no idea about this,” he said regarding the WhatsApp conversation.
“I am a middle-class person and don't even use the phone that government gave me. I still use my old number,” he said.
Asked whether the conversation had taken place, he said these kinds of questions were intended to generate sensationalist news.
“Not a word of it is true. Before asking me, ask yourself if the question is logical.”
Asked what steps would be taken if the reports are false, he said, “We have already taken three measures. We wrote to the information secretary mentioning the daily's name. The government has been informed to take steps against it. There's the press council and other rules. We'll be taking measures accordingly.”
A letter has been sent to the home secretary to take action against the source who caused all the trouble, he said. He would be arrested in one or two days. The banker, whose mistake led to the opening of such a bank account, would face the law as well, he said.
