It is time the government spelled out in no uncertain terms the price the fraudsters who are quite high-ups in the bureaucracy and also their cohorts must pay for having criminally gained by 'associating' themselves with the war of liberation. This is because the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has already submitted formally a probe report stating that four serving Secretaries to the government resorted to fraudulence in obtaining freedom-fighter certificates in a bid to stretch their service length as well as enjoy other perks that come along.
At a time when gaining by any means is often seen as the rule of the game, the scale of cheating resorted to by none other than the supposedly key policy-makers of the government cannot but be considered outrageous. One of the accused is the senior-most serving civil servant who also had his hey days as the secretary in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) for a considerable period of time, prior to his present posting as head of a key organisation of the government. Another, clearly a more calculating one, considered it his right to grab the prestigious certificate, himself being the secretary of the Ministry of Liberation War Affairs. This goes to show how the long hand of those in power can reach out to the most inaccessible regions given any prospect of gain in sight. The ACC report that made headlines a few days ago says the alleged perpetrators had submitted forged documents to obtain the certificates -a proof that they took part in the war of liberation forty-three years back - although none of them declared so neither at the time of their entry into service nor during the most part of their service tenure.
It was only after the government announcement in November 2012 allowing freedom fighters a year's service extension before they retire that a large number of officials obtained freedom-fighter certificates allegedly through forged documents in order to extend their tenure. Reports began to pour in on alleged cheating in the media and the government was pressed into instituting investigation. It has come to light that so far around 200 certificates, obtained by government employees at various levels through forged documents, have been cancelled. Investigation is reportedly on and no wonder the list of culprits may be a long one.
Trying to demean the spirit of the war of liberation is not new in this country. In fact, it has been systematically practised for long by the vested quarters. The most conspicuous of these elements are pretty well known as they are least bothered to hide their intent or acts. They, needless to say, are the known enemies of the nation. But more dangerous, perhaps, are those unknown imposters who resort to their fake credentials as war heroes only to cash in on their false 'glory'. Now, should mere stripping them of the cachet of war veterans be enough? Or, terminating them from their jobs? In order to uphold the dignity and sacrifice of the valiant sons of the soil in the war of liberation, the government should soon draw criminal proceedings against the fraudsters and also take back all facilities they enjoyed as freedom fighters.
Imposter freedom fighters should not go unpunished
FE Team | Published: September 12, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00
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