Bangladesh Technical Education Board (BTEB) chairman Ali Akbar Khan has been removed from his post hours after the arrest of his wife in connection with a crime ring that sold fake certificates.
The Technical and Madrasa Education Division of the Ministry of Education issued a notification in this regard on Monday.
It is said in the notification, the Bangladesh Technical Education Board Chairman Md Ali Akbar Khan has been removed from the role of chairman and attached to the technical department. The Board of Technical Education exempted and relieved him from the post to join the new post attached to the Directorate of Technical Education.
In another notification, the Director of the Bangladesh Technical Education Board (ICT) Professor Md Mamun ul Haque was given the additional responsibility of chairman of the Technical Education Board.
On April 21, Sehela Parveen, wife of Technical Education Board Chairman Ali Akbar Khan, was arrested by the police for her involvement in the fake certificate ring. Allegations have arisen that some officials of the technical education board including the chairman are involved with the crime.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DB) will interrogate the former chairman of the board, Md Ali Akbar Khan, on suspicion of forging the technical board’s certificate. DB chief Additional Commissioner of Police Mohammad Harunor Rashid provided the information.
What happened earlier?
In a press conference at the DMP Media Centre on Minto Road in the capital on Monday, Harun said that the chairman of the technical board will be called for questioning on Tuesday. He may be arrested if the allegations are found to be true.
Besides, others whose names have come up involved in the forgery will also be called for questioning one by one.
At another briefing on Sunday, he said that after the arrest of two people from Mirpur this month, according to the information given by them, two of the gang were arrested. Prof Mostafizur Rahman, 48, of Kamrangirchar Hillful Fuzul Technical and BM College was arrested on April 18, and Md Maksudur Rahman alias Mamun, 40, director of Dhaka Technical School and College, was arrested the next day on April 19.
Based on secret information, a team of the DB arrested Sanjida Akhtar Koli, director of Garai Survey Institute in Kushtia, from the Sadar Thana area of the district on April 5. Later, Shehela Parveen, 54, was arrested from Uttara.
On April 1, the detectives conducted a raid at a house in the Pirer Bagh area of Mirpur in the capital and arrested the Bangladesh Technical Education Board’s computer cell system analyst AKM Shamsuzzaman and the same organization’s sacked and currently Shamsuzzaman’s personally paid assistant, Faisal. A large number of mark sheets, fake certificates, and registration cards and admit cards were recovered from them.
Meanwhile, the Detective Branch (DB) of the Police will interrogate Ali Akbar Khan, former chairman of the Bangladesh Technical Education Board (BTEB), in a case filed over certificate forgery.
“We summoned him to the DB office tomorrow [23 April] for quizzing. If Ali Akbar Khan is found to be involved with the certificate forgery he will also be arrested,” DB Chief Harun-Or-Rashid said at a press conference at the DMP media centre on Monday.
Ali Akbar Khan was made OSD (officer on special duty) on Sunday after detectives found evidence of financial transactions between his wife Sehela Parveen and a gang involved in forging certificates.
A team of Detective Branch of police recently raided a fake certificate manufacturing factory in the city’s Mirpur area and arrested two people from there.
In the raid’s aftermath, Shahela Parveen, 54, the wife of Ali Akbar Khan, chairman of the Technical Education Board, was arrested from Uttara on Saturday, the DB chief said.
Earlier on April 1, DB arrested BTEB system analyst AKM Shamsuzzaman and his accomplice Faisal and recovered hundreds of fake certificates, mark sheets, registration cards, admit cards, and original certificates, blank copies of mark sheets stolen from BTEB.
A case was filed against them under the Cyber Security Act the next day.
Based on their information, the law enforcers arrested Sanjida Akhter Koli, director of Gorai Survey Institute, from Kushtia on April 5.