ACC to sue Ranga over ‘Tk 1.7cr bribe’

The Anti-Corruption Commission has found evidence that former state minister and Jatiya Party’s former secretary general Mashiur Rahman Ranga accepted a bribe of Tk 1.7 crore in exchange for facilitating a candidacy in the 2018 national election.

The anti-graft watchdog has decided to file a case against Ranga and former Kurigram-2 MP Panir Uddin Ahmed over the bribery allegation. The money was allegedly received from Panir to create an opportunity for him to contest the election.

ACC Director General Md Akhtar Hossain yesterday said the decision to file the case was taken at the commission’s headquarters.

According to sources familiar with the investigation report, Ranga accepted Tk 1.7 crore as a bribe from Panir despite having no business relationship with him.

The investigation further revealed that Panir is the proprietor of M/s Jalil Biri Factory and Haque Special, a transport business. On October 30, 2018, Tk 20 lakh was transferred from his special account at Islami Bank Bangladesh’s Kurigram branch to Ranga’s account at the bank’s Rangpur branch.

In addition, Panir deposited Tk 1.5 crore in four instalments in November 2018 from Sonali Bank’s Kurigram branch to Ranga’s account at the Sonali Bank Parliament Bhaban branch. In total, Tk 1.7 crore was paid as bribe.