Why govt should not be directed to take specific steps

The High Court yesterday issued a rule asking the government to explain in four weeks why it should not be directed to take necessary steps to recover the US $101 million hackers recently stole from Bangladesh Bank's account with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

The foreign, home and finance secretaries and the present and former Bangladesh Bank governors have been made respondents.

The rule came following Supreme Court lawyer Eunus Ali Akond's writ petition, filed with the HC as public interest litigation on March 22, seeking the recovery and stating that the respondents did not take any effective step to this end.

Eunus told The Daily Star that the bench of Justice Zinat Ara and Justice AKM Zahirul Hoque did not respond to two prayers in the petition.

One was for ordering the government to constitute a search committee for appointing an "adequate", "competent", "sincere" and "honest" finance minister and a governor for Bangladesh Bank, he said. The other was to direct the government to arrest the former governor, Atiur Rahman, for not taking any step for the recovery, he added.