Photo : Collected
Finally, the 10 officials who embezzled hundreds of crores of taka through a syndicate at the Bangladesh Sugarcrop Research Institute are facing interrogation. A series of reports published in The Daily Messenger highlighted the rampant corruption and syndicates within the organisation. Following these reports and complaints from institute officials, the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC) has registered the matter and begun the process of investigating. Letters requesting information related to manpower recruitment and various projects from the past eight years are being sent out. Additionally, all officers implicated in the complaints will be interrogated, and their asset accounts will be reviewed. This marks the first time these officials have faced such scrutiny.
Dr. Sheikh Mohammad Bakhtiar, Executive Chairman of BARC, confirmed the ongoing investigation, stating, "We are keeping an eye on these issues." Meanwhile, the institute's Director General, Dr. Omar Ali, remarked, "What happened before is not my concern. I have tried to keep corruption free. And my term is about to end here."
According to related sources, the head of this syndicate is the institute's Chief Scientific Officer and Departmental Head, Hasibur Rahman, along with Chief Scientific Officer (current duty) and Departmental Head of Administration, Abu Taher Sohel, who manages the syndicate. Their assistants include Chief Scientific Officer (current duty) and Divisional Head of Administration Department (additional duty) Tofail Ahmed, Chief Scientific Officer Aminul Haque, Senior Scientific Officer Shariful Islam, Senior Scientific Officer SM Rezaul Karim, Scientific Officer Abdul Azim, Scientific Officer Rashedur Rahman Rajiv, Scientific Officer and In-charge Sanjit Mandal, and Head of Accounts and Audit Department Abdullah Baki.
Allegedly, these officers are involved in embezzling crores of taka in the name of recruitment for various research projects. They are accused of hiring personnel in exchange for money at the beginning of the project and taking large bribes to transfer the project to the revenue department upon completion. They are also accused of extorting money through fake bill vouchers for various projects. This syndicate has reportedly been looting crores of taka for almost eight years.
It is known that since 2013, following the accession of Dr. Kamal Humayun Kabir as the director general of the institute, money embezzlement activities began. Timber trees worth crores were sold as dead trees through fake tenders, with trees worth about 50 lakh taka being sold at nominal prices. Several projects have been implicated in widespread corruption.
Among these projects are the Palm, Gol, and Date Palm Development Projects (2010-2015), where nearly half of the 5 crore taka allocated was misappropriated through tenders and manpower expenses. The Sugar Beet Project (2010-2014), a pilot project worth approximately 7-8 crore taka, aimed at producing sugar molasses through production techniques, failed to materialize due to misappropriation of funds.
The Biotechnology Project (2010-2014), with an 8-10 crore taka budget, saw widespread corruption in tenders and recruitment. The Hill Area Development Project (2010-2022) aimed at improving the socio-economic condition through sugarcane cultivation in the greater Chittagong region had 15-20 crore taka misappropriated over three phases. Funds were siphoned off from various activities, including the collection of sugarcane saplings and manpower recruitment with low wages.
Other projects that witnessed significant financial irregularities include the Clean and Disease-Free Sugarcane Seed Production and Expansion (2020-2024) with 25 crore taka, the Hill Area Sugarcane Cultivation Program (approximately 3 crore taka), the Date Palm Production Program (approximately 2 crore taka), and the Sugarcane Cultivation Project in the Rangpur region with 20 crore taka. In particular, crores of rupees have been embezzled by showing unnecessary office rents and other inflated expenses.
According to the complaint, crores of taka have been misappropriated in all the recruitment trades from 2010 to 2022. At least 100 people have been recruited in the last 10 years, including scientists, officers, and employees in both project and revenue sectors. The syndicate has allegedly taken at least 5 crore taka through these appointments.
Sources indicate that in 2016, the institute's Director General, Dr. Khalilur Rahman, was involved in a car accident that killed Chief Scientific Officer Abdullah. Following this incident, the syndicate reportedly held the director general hostage. Since then, all subsequent DGs have been manipulated and exploited by the syndicate. The current director general is also said to be subordinate to them, and his term of service is nearly over. The syndicate is now desperate to extend his tenure and is campaigning in the ministry for this purpose.
Additionally, after project completion, the officials and employees were supposed to be absorbed into the revenue sector and have their jobs nationalized. However, the syndicate did not allow at least 20 scientific officers from some projects to be employed because they refused to pay bribes. Consequently, these officers are struggling to make a living.
Messenger/Fameema
