Editorial
Offhand dismissal of a potential witness
ACC's stance perplexing
It is perplexing that the ACC Chairman would choose to dismiss rather brusquely and out offhand the idea of driver Azam's becoming a witness in the railway ministry scam allegedly linked to the former minister for railways and his PS.
We wonder why the driver's statement would not be taken into account in the inquiry process. This particular case has evinced lot of curiosity in public mind given the peculiar circumstances of the case. It is not always that a minister's personal staff goes around with cash stashed in a car that was, given the statement of the driver, heading for the former railway minister's house at that time of the night.
May we remind the ACC chairman that it was stated by the secretary of the Commission, in May 2012, after the said driver had gone suspiciously missing, that the inquiry into the 70 lakh taka haul would remain incomplete if driver Azam was not to found. Why this stand now?
The primary task ACC is to prevent corruption and where corruption has occurred to find out the guilty. And to do so objectivity is the main criterion which must be fulfilled. ACC is not the court of law and as such cannot decide who does or does not merit as a witness. The relevance of a person as a witness is not dictated by his or her social status. The statement of the ACC, we are constrained to say, is totally misplaced.
We are not suggesting that driver Azam is telling truth. But how can one determine whether he is lying if he is not questioned. Azam is a material witness who must be retrieved from wherever he is ensconced for his version of the event in the interest getting to the bottom of the matter because there are many unanswered questions lurking in people's mind in this regard.
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