Bogura Police Travel-Allowance Embezzlement: 27 Repay Over Tk 1.5 Crore, About Tk 1.5 Crore Still Outstanding, Auditor Suspended

New details have emerged in the embezzlement of government money through forged travel allowance (TA) bills and vouchers in the Bogura district police. Of 31 police members accused of involvement, 27 have already returned more than Tk 1.5 crore. But about Tk 1.5 crore is still held by the remaining four police members and accounts office auditor Firoz Alam, who have not yet returned it.

In the same case, an investigation committee formed by the office of the Comptroller and Auditor General identified the involvement of five people from the accounts office. Among them, auditor Firoz Alam has been temporarily suspended. Four other employees have been asked to explain themselves over allegations of negligence in duty.

Additional Superintendent of Police (Administration and Finance) Asaduzzaman, who heads the four-member investigation committee formed by the district police, said the people concerned were questioned several times as part of the inquiry. Checking their bank accounts also produced evidence of unusual transactions.

Asaduzzaman said that, as a strategy to recover the embezzled government money, those involved were given the opportunity to return the funds. Taking that opportunity, 27 people returned more than Tk 1.5 crore in phases. However, he said, action will be recommended against four police members, including police office accounts assistant Rajibul Islam, if they do not return the money.

Speaking to several police members who returned money over the embezzlement allegations, it was learned that they were compelled to repay in order to save their jobs. They claim that, after withdrawing the money sent to their bank accounts, they had to hand a large portion of it to accounts office auditor Firoz Alam and police office accounts assistant Rajibul Islam.

Sources connected with the investigation say that for a year, a circle from the police office and the accounts office had been embezzling government money by forging police members' TA bills and vouchers using the Superintendent of Police's computer ID. The matter came to the attention of Superintendent of Police Mirza Sayem Mahmud on the morning of 19 August.

After that, a four-member investigation committee was formed on 26 August, keeping police office accounts assistant Rajibul Islam and accounts office auditor Firoz Alam as suspects. The inquiry identified those involved, and the police members concerned are said to have told the committee about the involvement of Rajibul Islam and Firoz Alam.

Auditor Firoz Alam was later withdrawn from Bogura and attached to the Rajshahi divisional office. At the same time, another investigation committee was formed under Chief Accounts Officer Mamun Ul Mannan of the Comptroller and Auditor General's office, whose members came to Bogura and investigated the matter.

Bogura District Accounts Officer Asaduzzaman Sarkar said that after receiving the investigation committee's report, auditor Firoz Alam was temporarily suspended. In addition, four more employees of the accounts office were asked to explain themselves over negligence in duty.

Asaduzzaman Sarkar said auditor Firoz Alam alone was involved in embezzling the government money from the accounts office side. However, he has not yet returned the embezzled money. The other four employees have been asked to explain themselves over negligence.