THE Anti-Corruption Commission coming to ignore the allegation of illegal amassing of wealth by former inspector general of police, Benazir Ahmed, is unacceptable. Following the reports of 鈥榰nusual wealth鈥� of the former police chief and his family members, campaigners against corruption have urged the commission to investigate the allegations, but the commission is reported to be as yet undecided whether to investigate the allegations or not. The commission chairman is reported to have said that the commission will make a decision on the media reports in its next meeting, which is not yet scheduled. The non-cognisance of the allegation of illegal amassing of wealth by a former public official comes as concerning on several counts. It gives the impression that the commission is selective in taking up allegations and reports for investigation and that it hesitates to investigate allegations of corruption when they involve influential people. A Bangla national daily recently revealed that the former IGP, who also served as the director general of the Rapid Action Battalion, and his family members have amassed huge wealth beyond known sources of income. According to the reports, the former IGP and his family members have amassed wealth worth over a thousand crore.
Of the assets, 鈥楽avannah Eco Resort鈥� in Sahapur, Gopalganj is one that the former IGP has built by spending a fortune and which has his wife as the chairman, their elder daughter as the managing director, and their younger daughter as the director. The media reports also claim that the Benazir family has invested over Tk 500 crore in six companies, five of which were founded by the former police chief. There is also an allegation of encroaching forest land. Besides, the former police chief also owns expensive flats in upscale areas in the capital, land and a house in Purbachal, Dhaka, and land in Cox鈥檚 Bazar. The report says that such wealth does not match the known source of income of the former IGP, who earned less than Tk 2 crore in salary and allowances in his service period of 34 years and seven months. This is exactly why it becomes imperative for the Anti-Corruption Commission to investigate the allegations. The allegations warrant the particular attention of the anti-corruption watchdog as they involve a public official who was under a pledge to fight corruption and crimes. This is also important for the commission, which appears to be suffering from a waning of people鈥檚 confidence as there is a perception, not totally unfounded, that the commission is selective in taking up allegations and complaints for investigation. The trust deficit is evident in the substantial decline in the number of corruption complaints that the Anti-Corruption Commission has received in recent years.
The Anti-Corruption Commission must, therefore, take the allegations into cognisance, investigate them, and, if found true, bring the former police chief to justice. The commission must realise that it risks its integrity if it does not investigate corruption allegations against a former public official.
