HC wants ACC to probe wheat import scam

A writ petition was filed with the High Court on Monday seeking its directives to investigate by the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) the allegation of rotten wheat import from Brazil. An HC bench comprising Justice Quazi Reza-UL-Hoque and Justice Abu Taher Mohammad Saifur Rahman is likely to hear the writ on Tuesday, said Barrister Sanjid Siddiqua, the counsel for the petitioner. In the wake of criticisms over the import of 0.20 million metric tonnes of substandard Brazilian wheat worth over Tk4 billion , Supreme Court lawyer Pavel Miah filed the writ petition in the morning. The petitioner also appealed to the HC to issue a rule asking the authorities concerned to explain why the import of low quality wheat from Brazil should not be declared unlawful. Besides, he sought the HC directives to conduct tests of the rotten wheat at Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) and Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI). The Food Secretary, the Director General of the Directorate General of Food, the BSTI DG, BARI and ACC have been made respondents to the writ, according to a news agency.