Probe report submission against Hasina, 16 others March 12 next year

A Dhaka court has set March 12 next year for the submission of probe report in a case lodged over an alleged loss of Tk 3.09 billion to the government due to irregularities and abuse of power in awarding toll collection contract for Meghna-Gomti Bridge, reports BSS.

Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Md Sabbir Faiz passed the order on Tuesday, accepting the first information report of the case.

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on October 12 filed the case against 17 including ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

The other accused in the case are Amir Hossain Amu, Tofail Ahmed, Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, Obaidul Quader, Anisul Huq, MA Mannan, MAN Siddique, Md Faruq Jalil, Mohammad Shafiqul Karim, Md Firoz Iqbal, Ibne Alam Hasan, Md Aftab Hossain Khan, Md Abdus Salam, Munir Uz Zaman Chowdhury, Selina Chowdhury and Ikram Iqbal.

According to the case documents, Computer Network Systems Ltd (CNS) was given the contract through a single-source tender, bypassing competitive bidding, in 2016.

The CNS was given a five-year contract with a service charge of 17.75 percent of total toll revenue. As a result, it received more than Taka 489 crore in bills -- much higher than comparable contracts.