How Many More Benazir Ahmeds Are Still At Large?

 
Benazir Ahmed served as Inspector General of Bangladesh Police (IGP) from 15 April 2020 to 30 September 2022. Earlier, he was appointed as the Commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) and Director General of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB). Reports published both in Bangladesh and abroad have meanwhile exposed Benazir Ahmed's staggering corruption and abuse of power which enabled him to build up mountainous quantities of assets in Bangladesh and some foreign countries.

Now questions have emerged who aided Benazir Ahmed in getting hold of such mammoth amounts of illegally obtained assets and money. It is vivid like daylight that Benazir Ahmed was not alone in these unlawful shenanigans. He received direct support from influential people both inside and outside the government.

Allegedly Benazir Ahmed and former Chairman of Padma Bank Chowdhury Nafiz Sharafat forced Muhammad Shafiqur Rahman MP to sign a paper which authorized Benazir Ahmed and Chowdhury Nafiz Sharafat to get the shares of Citizen TV transferred to their coffers.

According to Muhammad Shafiqur Rahman, he was picked up from his residence in the capital's Banani all on a sudden one midnight around 1 am. The person that abducted him was none other than Chowdhury Nafiz Sharafat. Muhammad Shafiqur Rahman was taken to the ground floor of Westin Hotel where the then IGP Benazir Ahmed was waiting for him. Some people with arms were also there, Muhammad Shafiqur Rahman further said.

Muhammad Shafiqur Rahman is a former President of National Press Club and at present he is an elected Member of Parliament (MP) from ruling party Awami League. If a dignified journalist leader and lawmaker like Muhammad Shafiqur Rahman can be compelled to hand over his property shares to crooks like Benazir Ahmed and Chowdhury Nafiz Sharafat, what about ordinary people? This inevitable question has glared up too.

Prominent citizens have stated that capturing a television channel at midnight is an explicit threat to freedom of expression and freedom of speech in Bangladesh. Immediate past Foreign Minister Dr. AK Abdul Momen once said that most of the money launderers who illegally transfer funds from Bangladesh to foreign countries are government officials. The monthly salary of a Secretary or Senior Secretary ranges from 78 thousand taka to 85 thousand taka approximately. Then how can some bureaucrats get hold of Aladdin's miraculous lamp at lightning speed and become billionaires-this question has puzzled economists, civil society members and political analysts.

Many more Benazir Ahmeds are still at large. No action is being taken against them while they have gobbled up banks, insurance companies and financial institutions. These culprits have now become monsters who appear to be much more powerful than the government. They run syndicates that spoil the country's financial and banking sectors and thwart all attempts by the government to resist corruption. Simultaneously, these syndicators are responsible for abnormally rising prices of daily essential goods across Bangladesh and skyrocketing inflation.

References can be made to former Chief of Staff of Bangladesh Army General (Retd) Aziz Ahmed as well on whom embargoes from the United States government were recently imposed. There are many more people who are even more demonic than Aziz Ahmed who have become owners of power plants, industries, private universities etcetera right after retirement but nobody knows why the authorities concerned are busy with Aziz Ahmed alone.

Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman struggled all his life to secure the rights of downtrodden masses. Bangabandhu's unflinching leadership expedited the independence of Bangladesh through the Liberation War of 1971. Bangabandhu all the time dreamt of a Bangladesh free of injustice and corruption.

Bangabandhu's capable daughter Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's achievements will be irreversibly tarnished and her political image will be seriously downgraded if the government fails to establish good governance, accountability and rule of law in all sectors of Bangladesh and if corruption and irregularities cannot be eliminated.

Former Cabinet Secretary Ali Imam Majumder said that neither Benazir Ahmed nor Aziz Ahmed amassed so huge a magnitude of illegally earned money and assets by magic. Authorities concerned and influential quarters assisted them. The exposure of the illegal wealth owned by Benazir Ahmed and Aziz Ahmed are just tip of the iceberg, Alim Imam Majumder further said.

Bangladesh Bank's former Governor Dr. Mohammed Farashuddin said "Regulators in Bangladesh are very harsh and stern on small borrowers who have defaulted only ten or twenty thousand taka. On the other hand, mega loan scammers have close alliance with senior government officials and regulatory authorities. So, who will bring them to books? This is a grim scenario of socio-economic injustice and extreme absence of rule of law. True progress cannot be made in this way."

Bangladesh Bank's former Governor Dr. Salehuddin Ahmed said that there are many more top to bottom corrupted officials in Bangladesh who are holding high posts in various departments. The ruling authorities have failed to take any remarkable actions against these perpetrators as a result of which these thugs have now gripped the driving seats in all sectors, Dr. Salehuddin Ahmed stated.

Former Adviser to caretaker government Dr. Wahid Uddin Mahmud said that political intervention is the most serious impediment in Bangladesh for building up good governance and accountability. Some loan scammers and financial racketeers have become far more powerful than regulatory authorities due to lack of effective actions by the government, Dr. Wahid Uddin Mahmud commented.

Dr. Iftekharuzzaman, Executive Director of Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) said that the government has again and again failed to meet its commitment to fight corruption. Mega loan defaulters and branded money launderers have never been placed under scanner by the authorities concerned, Dr. Iftekharuzzaman remarked.

Eminent legal expert and environmental jurist Syeda Rizwana Hasan said that the government has not been yet give any solid answer as to how Benazir Ahmed managed to escape from Bangladesh. Syeda Rizwana Hasan called upon the government, the regulatory authorities and law and order forces to carry out their duty without giving undue favours to anyone.