Khulna Bureau :
Khulna Regional Food Controller Iqbal Bahar Chowdhury has built a mountain of illegal wealth through corruption and bribery. In the guise of a government official, he is like a ‘professional craftsman’ of corruption.
Transfers, rice and flour allocation, OMS dealer appointment – in all cases, work cannot be done without paying a large bribe. Not only Khulna, but the food department of the entire southwestern region is like a dark factory, whose operator is this Iqbal Bahar. All the horrific pictures have emerged in a written complaint by food inspector Salim Reza.
The complaint was submitted to the chief advisor on September 2 last year, a copy of which reached the ACC, the ministry, the district administrator and the press club. The complaint says that although the government office is from 9 am to 5 pm, Iqbal Bahar’s office hours start after evening. That’s when the ‘bribery-challan’ transactions started. Millions of taka were collected in the name of regular meetings with OCLSDs.
He threatened to give a ‘unfavorable’ report if he did not pay the ‘visit fee’ of 20,000 taka for inspections, 8,000 taka for car fuel and 2,000 taka for driver Minhaj. He even went to resorts with his wife and arranged luxurious events from the OCLSDs’ pockets.
The officials had to buy a saree from the VIP market for his wife, Dr. Lamia Nahar, for her room. More horrifying information is that bribes were paid at a fixed rate to get permission to move rice or wheat and allocate. 50,000 taka was paid for each allocation, of which 10,000 went to the pocket of the office’s accountant Shahin Molla. These bribes were sent through SA Paribahan, courier service and bank transfer.
Iqbal has a flat worth 3 crores in the elite area of Dhanmondi in Dhaka, and he has savings of 5 crores in a joint account with his wife. There are lands and plots in Basila, Munshiganj and Comilla in Dhaka. He also received gifts worth lakhs of taka on his birthday. It is alleged that OCLSDs were forced to give gifts, which included diamond rings, Rolex watches, gold rings, etc. Earlier, Iqbal Bahar Chowdhury was withdrawn on corruption charges while he was in DC Food in Pabna, Joypurhat, Mymensingh. The ACC case in the case of embezzlement of 300 tons of rice in Muktagachha is also still ongoing.
The Khulna Food Department is in turmoil now. Food-friendly programs are floundering under the reign of bribery, and the food security of the people is under threat. Demands have been made from the highest levels of the administration to break this empire of corruption built under the umbrella of the fascist government. The question is, how long will Iqbal Bahar Chowdhury remain out of reach?
When I went to the Khulna Regional Food Controller’s office at 11 am on Sunday, he was not found. Later, when contacted by phone, Khulna Regional Food Controller (RCFood) Iqbal Bahar Chowdhury said that some people are making these complaints because they are upset when they do not get the place they want after being transferred. All this is baseless.
Regarding the promotion, he said, I was not promoted by beating anyone, but on the basis of merit. I was supposed to be higher, but that did not happen.
