The Advisory Council has instructed an investigation into bribery allegation against the senior secretary of the Ministry of Public Administration in the appointment of deputy commissioners (DC).
Three advisers have been assigned to conduct the inquiry, Sharmin S Murshid, adviser to the Ministry of Social Welfare and Ministry of Women and Child Affairs, said during a press conference over Durga Puja at the secretariat on Thursday, reports UNB.
The three advisers are Lt Gen (retd) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, Asif Nazrul and Md Nahid Islam. They will form a committee to investigate the matter, she added.
When reporters drew her attention about the government's step over the bribery claims involving the senior secretary, Sharmin said, "Yes, of course, the government will investigate. However, two points should be considered by the media.
“Firstly, how much of the widely circulated clip on social media is authentic, and how much could be AI-generated or manipulated? Ordinary people like us can't always differentiate. The cabinet discussed the issues, and we are looking into the technical accuracy of the information shared."
She further said, "It must be investigated promptly, and we will ensure that happens."
Expressing her concern, Sharmin said, "It’s troubling to hear such talk about a high-ranking official. Naturally, we are concerned about this. We need to investigate why these allegations of bribery have surfaced, what their source is, and the reasons behind them.
“We are no longer in the analogue age, which adds to our challenges. We can’t simply accept everything that appears on social media as true; we must verify it."
A vernacular daily has published a report alleging bribery involving Md Mokhlesur Rahman, the senior secretary of the public administration ministry, regarding the appointment of DCs. The report also included screenshots of the senior secretary's WhatsApp conversations.
However, Mokhlesur dismissed the allegation of bribery related to DC appointment as “baseless” and labelled a recent article published in a national daily as “fake”.
