Leaking Nid data
Case filed against Joy, Palak, others
'Tk 200b embezzled through NID data sale'
FE REPORT | Thursday, 10 October 2024
A case has been filed against 19 people, including former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's son Sajeeb Wazed Joy and former state minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak, over allegations of leaking and selling citizens' National ID (NID) data.
The lawsuit, filed under the Cyber Security Act on Wednesday, also implicates 15 to 20 unidentified individuals.
According to Maksuder Rahman, Deputy Commissioner of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), the case was lodged at Kafrul Police Station by Enamul Haque, accusing the defendants of embezzling around Tk 200 billion through the illicit sale of NID data.
The complaint alleges that Joy and Palak misused their official positions by facilitating the sale of NID data through a coordinated syndicate. This group was said to have enabled Digicon Global Services Limited to access NID information for business dealings with various entities, without adequately safeguarding national security and citizens' privacy.
The data was allegedly sold to approximately 182 domestic and international organisations, raising serious concerns over public safety.
Other prominent figures named in the case include Tareque M Barkatullah, former director of the Data Center; Wahidur Rahman Sharif, director of Digicon Global Services; N M Ziaul Alam, former senior secretary of the Ministry of ICT; and Mahbubur Rahman, former executive director of the Bangladesh Computer Council.
The other accused persons are Abdul Baten, former director (operations) of the National Identity Registration Wing at the Election Commission Secretariat; Ashraf Hossain, former senior maintenance engineer at the Election Commission Secretariat; Lt Col (retd) Rakibul Hasan of the National Telecommunication Monitoring Center (NTMC); Haider Ali, retired professor of the CSE department at the University of Dhaka; Muhammad Mahfuzul Islam, former vice-chancellor of the Canadian University of Bangladesh; and several former officials from various government departments responsible for handling NID data, including Abdul Momin Sarkar, Sarwar Hossain, and Aliul Hasan.