ACC files case against 4 Kurigram food officials for embezzlement
Graphics: Agamir Somoy
Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed a case against four officials of the Kurigram District Controller of Food over allegations of embezzling government food grains and committing storage irregularities.
Kurigram ACC Deputy Assistant Director Mizanur Rahman Chowdhury confirmed the matter and filed the case in the Kurigram District Senior Special Judge’s Court on Tuesday.
The accused in the case are then Kurigram Sadar Food Depot acting officer Sharif Ahmed, then assistant sub-food inspector Helal Uddin, then Kurigram Sadar Upazila controller of food Halimur Rahman, and Acting District Food Controller Mohammad Kazi Hamidul Haq.
Mizanur said officials filed the case over charges of embezzling government food grains worth over Tk 2 crore and committing irregularities in storage. Among the accused, except for Hamidul, the other three officials have been transferred and are working in different districts.
The case allegations added that an ACC Enforcement Team uncovered various discrepancies while reviewing documents related to government food grain storage and procurement for the 2025-26 fiscal year and verifying actual stocks.
These discrepancies included shortages between rice listed in documents and actual inventory, accounting inconsistencies in procured paddy, and instances where grains were missing from the depot despite bill payments.
According to the First Information Report (FIR), an ACC Enforcement Team conducted a drive at the Shishu Niketan and Khalilganj depots of Kurigram Sadar Food Depot on 11 January. During the raid, the team uncovered evidence of various irregularities regarding rice and paddy stocks.
ACC officials observed various discrepancies in food grain storage, procurement, and bill payments. Due to these irregularities, the FIR charged the four food officials with embezzling government food grains valued around Tk 2,01,75,352.
The team discovered an unrecorded stock of 119 metric tons of rice near the west gate of the depot adjacent to Shishu Niketan School in Kurigram Sadar, valued around Tk 69,39,959. Then Sharif failed to produce any valid documents regarding the procurement, weight, storage, or transportation of this rice, leading to charges against him under a separate section.
In the FIR, the ACC alleged that the four officials colluded to fabricate discrepancies in storage and procurement records in order to embezzle a vast quantity of government food grains. If the investigation uncovers anyone else’s involvement, authorities will take it into account.
Mizanur said, “After the drive, we sent a report to the ACC head office. Recently, the head office approved the case. In light of that, I filed the case in court on Tuesday afternoon.”
Hamidul added that he was unaware of the case.
