Police find allegation correct, to submit report tomorrow
MOSHIUR RAHMAN RANGA
Police during investigation found the Tk 13.55 core graft charge against former Jatiya Party (Ershad) lawmaker Moshiur Rahman Ranga and Rangpur Zaker Party president Ali Azgor Pintu correct. The investigation report will be submitted to court here tomorrow, investigation officer of the case Humayun Kabir told this correspondent yesterday. Ranga and Pintu were president and secretary respectively of Rangpur Zila Motor Malik Samiti (bus owners association). The money realised from vehicles in last 17 years on different heads was misappropriated by Ranga and Pintu, according to the allegations made by two office bearers of the association. Pintu is in Rangpur jail and Ranga is absconding since declaration of emergency, police said. according to the allegations, Ranga and Pintu collected tolls amounting to Tk. 13.55 core from 300 buses plying different routes from or through Rangpur. According to the investigation report, every day they collected Tk 300 from each Dhaka bound bus, Tk 450 from Rajshahi bound bus, Tk150 from Gaibandha bound bus, Tk 250 from Bogra bound bus, Tk 250 from Pathgram bound bus, Tk 50 from Fulbari bound bus and Tk 100 from buses bound for Lalmonirhat, Kurigram and Nilphamari. The money was collected on different heads like development fund, accident fund, mosque fund, and bus stand charge. Sirajul Islam, a member of Rangpur Zila Motor Malik Samiti, lodged a general diary against Ranga and Pintu with Rangpur Kotwali police station on July 29 in this connection. The GD was later turned into a regular case, which was investigated on a court order, IO of the case Humayun Kabir said. Earlier, accountant of the Samiti, Nitai Chnadra Roy, lodged a Tk 34 lakh graft case against them with the same police station. on contact, Sirajul Islam said, the amount of misappropriated money would be several times bigger than what Nitai mentioned in the case. Sirajul said members of the Samiti kept mum for last 17 years because whenever they tried to open their mouth against corruption by Ranga and Pintu, they were intimidated. Talking to this correspondent on condition of anonymity, some other members of the Samity claimed that they did not dare to protest as Ranga and Pintu maintained good relations with a section of police and district administration officials. They harassed him if any body tried to protest their irregularities, they claimed. Joint forces arrested Abu Azgor Pintu following filing of the case by Nitai Chnadra Roy after proclamation of emergency. The Samiti members alleged that Ranga and Pintu collected the illegal toll by using muscelmen and abusing party posts. The two leaders maintained a gang of about 200 musclemen who collected the toll at different points in the district. Ranga and Pintu were elected president and secretary of Rangpur Zila Motor Malik Samiti in 1990. Being elected, they made some major amendments to the Samiti's constitution so that they can retain their positions for long, the members alleged.
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