3 deputy secretaries made OSDs over freedom fighter quota forgery
Graphics: Agamir Somoy
Ministry of Public Administration made three deputy secretaries as Officers on Special Duty (OSD) over allegations of securing jobs in the 29th Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) through fraud and forgery under the children of freedom fighter’s quota.
The ministry confirmed the matter in three separate notifications on Wednesday night.
The three officers made OSD are Bangladesh Forest Industries Development Corporation Secretary Nahida Barik, Jamalpur Zonal Settlement Officer Tofazzal Hossain, and Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA) Director Rokibur Rahman Khan.
Although government records said they secured employment under the freedom fighter quota, an Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) investigation revealed that none of them had applied as candidates under the freedom fighter quota during the BCS examination.
ACC filed three separate lawsuits against them. The ministry took the action amid ongoing controversy over certificates and quota qualifications submitted during government job appointments.
Ministry of Public Administration sources added that the government published the first gazette for 29th BCS appointments on 10 July 2011, containing 184 names in the administration cadre.
At that time, 14 posts remained vacant due to a lack of suitable candidates under the freedom fighter quota. Thirteen months after the initial gazette, the ministry published another gazette featuring these three now-OSD officials along with several others.
On 4 April, the Cabinet Division sent a letter to the Ministry of Public Administration. The letter said the ACC filed six separate cases against six officials on charges of securing appointments in various cadres of the 29th BCS through fraud and forgery without applying under the freedom fighter’s child quota.
The Cabinet Division’s letter requested the Ministry of Public Administration to take necessary action against the accused officials. Six months after receiving the letter, the Ministry of Public Administration took action against three individuals.
The remaining three officials serve in the police, health, and education cadres. However, authorities have not taken any action against them yet.
