ACC raids find graft evidences at four BRTA offices

One person was sentenced on Sunday to 15 days' imprisonment and also fined Tk 8,000 for irregularities during a raid by a team of the graft busting wing of the government at the Ekuria office of the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA).

During the drive, the team of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) accompanied by a magistrate found evidences of different irregularities including bribery in issuing registration and fitness certificates for vehicles and driving licences.

The team arrested the person while other middlemen fled the scene sensing presence of the ACC officials.

The ACC conducted similar raids on the day at the BRTA offices in Khulna, Sylhet and Pabna over allegations of corruption.

The four separate drives were conducted on the basis of allegations received by the ACC through the hotline to it at 106.

The ACC team that went to the Pabna BRTA office found no officials or staff at their workplace.

On the other hand, irregularities and indiscipline were noticed by the ACC teams also at the Khulna and Sylhet offices of the BRTA.

With long queues for registration and fitness certificates for vehicles at these centres, some of the service seekers were found breaking the lines and offering kickbacks to some BRTA officials to get the services done quickly through middlemen.

Talking about the drives, ACC Director General (admin) Muhammad Munir Chowdhury said, "If discipline isn't ensured at different offices of BTRA, the commission will take legal actions directly against the people involved in graft and other irregularities."

Besides, he said there was no alternative to automation and digitisation to change the current scene of irregularities at the BRTA offices.

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