Bangladesh minister resigns over cash scandal

Dhaka Bangladesh Railway Minister Suranjit Sengupta Monday announced his resignation as investigations got under way into last week's midnight cash scandal.

"I am resigning for the sake of impartial investigations," said at a press conference at Railway Bhaban.

This is the first time a cabinet member has resigned following an allegation of graft in the country's 41-year history.

Sengupta, a veteran parliamentarian and senior leader of the ruling Awami League, said he was resigning to set an example in the "country's 41 years of history" accepting "the blames of all failures in my shoulder".

He said Prime Minister Shaikh Hasina had accepted his decision to quit the cabinet on Monday night.

The development came a week after one of Sengupta's official aides and two railway officials were on their way to his residence at around midnight. Their chauffeur suddenly pulled the car over to the high security Border Guard Bangladesh's (BGB) Pilkhana headquarters and told the guards that there was a huge stash of bribe money in the car.

'No known source'

The amount said to be 7 million taka (Dh318,500), with no known source of origin, was reportedly found in their possession, but the border guards set them free along with the amount the next morning after overnight grilling.

Sengupta said he would not speak to the media until the primary investigation was completed while he also declined to take any questions from journalists.

"I hope the investigations will be completed within quickest possible time ... this will unearth everything," he said.

The incident sparked a nationwide sensation exposing the government to embarrassment and prompting main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and civil society groups to demand his resignation.

'Sense of relief'

"I have resigned giving my countrymen and the civil society a sense of relief," Sengupta said.

Sengupta announced his resignation just a day after he told newsmen that he had fired his assistant private secretary (APS) and ordered the suspension of two railway officials and the department's ongoing recruitment process as investigations were underway into the scandal.

"I told you earlier, it is not a big thing for a politician to earn a position and it is also to quit it," he told newsmen on Sunday.

Investigations

Sengupta also said he fired his APS Omar Farouq and suspended railway general manager Yousuf Ali Mridha and divisional commandant of the security force Enamul Huq on the basis of their statements before the investigation committee.

Sengupta said the trio would face departmental and judicial cases to be filed under the Government Servants (Discipline and Appeal) Rules 1985. Officials familiar with the situation said Mridha and Haque were asked not leave Dhaka until further orders.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh Bank officials said they were set to issue a directive asking all banks to freeze Farouq's bank accounts and examine the accounts of the two others.

In a related development the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) yesterday said it has launched an investigation into the scandal and the alleged "recruitment trade" in the rail ministry.