Suspended PWD engr denied bail

The High Court yesterday refused to grant bail to an engineer in three cases filed over corruption in purchasing furniture and household items for the officials of Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant in Pabna.

The court, however, issued three separate rules asking the Anti-Corruption Commission and government why Md Shafiqul Islam, a suspended assistant engineer of the Public Works Department, should not be granted bail in the cases.

The HC bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice Ahmed Sohel came up with the rules after virtually holding hearing on the petitions filed by accused Shafiqul in connection with the cases.

ACC lawyer Advocate Khurshid Alam Khan said Shafiqul cannot get released from jail following the HC orders.

Syed Ahmed Raza appeared for Shafiqul while Deputy Attorney General AKM Amin Uddin represented the state.

The ACC filed the case with its Pabna district office against Shafiqul and several others on December 12 last year on charges of irregularities involving Tk 26 crore in supplying furniture and household items to the officials of Rooppur plant, said Advocate Khurshid Alam Khan.

Shafiqul was also arrested on that day, he informed. According to several reports, prices of various items used to furnish the project's 966 flats for the Russian engineers and others were abnormally higher than market prices.

The reports claimed that each pillow was bought for Tk 5,957, and the cost of carrying it to a flat was Tk 760. An electric stove cost Tk 7,747 and the cost of carrying it from the ground floor to the top floor was Tk 6,650. The price of an electric iron was Tk 4,154 and the carrying cost was Tk 2,945, the reports showed.