ACC summons suspended Gazipur mayor Jahangir

The Anti-Corruption Commission on Wednesday asked sacked mayor of Gazipur City Corporation Jahangir Alam to appear before the commission over graft allegations against him.

The anti-graft body sent a letter signed by its Deputy Director Ali Akbar, asking Jahangir to be present at the commission’s Segunbagicha headquarters in the capital at 10:00 am on May 21 and May 22 to give his statement over the graft allegations.

ACC secretary Md Mahabub Hossain said ACC is launching two enquiries against Jahangir Alam over one allegation of 2020 and another one of 2022.

He said “ACC has already recorded statements of many people over the allegations while many documents have also been collected from different offices. Now, his (Jahangir Alam) statement is required as the enquiry is now at the final stage. That is why he has been summoned. There is no link between ACC summons and the election.”

“Apart from this, there is also High Court time-bound to complete the probe of the graft allegations against him”, he added.

ACC summoned Jahangir to appear at the commission’s headquarters on May 21 regarding graft allegation against Anishur Rahman, Executive Engineer of Gazipur City Corporation and some contractors of the GCC on charges of misappropriating project funds.

The ACC also summoned Jahangir to appear at the commission on May 22 in connection with the allegation against Jahangir that he embezzled huge sums of money from different development projects of the Gazipur City Corporation.

In June, last year, the ACC formed a two-member team to conduct an enquiry into the first allegation against him while on August 29, last year, the commission also formed another enquiry committee to investigate the second allegation against Jahangir.

Meanwhile, the Awami League Central Executive Committee on Monday expelled Jahangir from the party after he began campaigning for his mother in the GCC polls disobeying the party’s decision yet again.

Earlier, in September 2021, AL central working committee expelled Jahangir following a leaked clip where he made derogatory remarks about Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and expressed doubts about the number of martyrs in the Liberation War.

Jahangir, however, got general amnesty and was reinstated into the party in January this year.

He sought the party’s nomination again for the mayoral post in the upcoming GCC election but the party chose Gazipur city AL President Azmat Ullah. Jahangir also tried to contest the polls as an independent candidate but his nomination paper was rejected.

However, his mother Zayeda Khatun’s nomination paper was found to be legal and she is contesting as an independent in the GCC polls.

The High Court on February 15, ordered ACC to complete its probe into the allegations of graft against Jahangir Alam within six months.