As Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina pursues a zero-tolerance policy against corruption and irregularities, none will be spared after committing misdeeds, high-ups in the law enforcement agency have warned.
“No corrupt and frauds would be spared. And JKG Healthcare Chairman Dr Sabrina Arif Chowdhury has been arrested while Regent Group chairman Mohammad Shahed may be netted anytime,” a high-up of law enforcement agency said.
Awami League (AL) Joint General Secretary AFM Bahauddin Nasim said, “Our party’s campaign against infiltrators or hybrids is continuing. Party chief Sheikh Hasina has also given us a list of infiltrators, beneficiaries, fraudsters, anti-socials, BNP and Jamaat followers in order to expel them from the party.”
He also said, “We are working to exclude the infiltrators and fraudsters according to that list. There will be a strong campaign to get them ousted from the party quickly.”
Awami League Presidium member Col (rtd) Faruk Khan said, “If any member of the party is involved in any misdeeds, very tough action will be taken against them. There is no amnesty or pardon for the wrongdoers in the Awami League.”
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is also considering giving order to launch another fresh round of purging drives both inside the party and government as a part of her long practiced zero tolerance policy against corruption, sources said.
The high ups of the government think that the number of infiltrators in the ruling party Awami League and its associate bodies is increasing.
Leaders of different levels of AL claimed that a few leaders are deviating from the party's promises and making room for the opportunists in the party.
According to them, the glorious image of the party will be dented and questioned, if the culprits both in the party and the government are not identified and punished immediately.
Senior party leaders think that the development and achievement of the party and the incumbent democratic government under the successful leadership of Sheikh Hasina are now being appreciated by all across the world.
But the party is also facing many questions only for a few beneficiaries and political touts, they added.
Sources also said, “Before the last parliamentary election, supporters of different parties joined AL with the help of some leaders. After joining AL and its front organizations, the hybrid leaders started trying to earn illegal money through corruption.”
Jubo League Dhaka South City unit’s former President Ismail Hossain Samrat, other expelled leaders of Juba League GK Shamim, Khaled Mahmud Bhuiyan, expelled general secretary of Narsingdi District Juba Mohila League ShamimaNurPapia and MdShahed Karim, chairman of the Regent Hospital, are the latest examples of the hybrid leaders who were involved in misdoings.
Khaled Mahmud Bhuiyan, organizing secretary of Dhaka Metropolitan South Juba League, was arrested last year on various charges including his involvement in casino activities. Before joining AL, the notorious criminal was a cadre of BNP standing committee member Mirza Abbas. He joined the ruling party through some influential leaders of the AL and its associate bodies.
At the direct instruction of Sheikh Hasina, also the president of the ruling party, influential chairman of Juba League Omar Faruq Chowdhury was also stepped down.
Shamima Nur Papia was arrested this year for her being involved in various crimes including sex trading, illegal arms business, smuggling and extortions. After her arrest, all of a sudden, the shocking information came out that she became the leader of Jubo Mohila League overnight. She owned a huge amount of money after joining the ruling party. The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) traced her illegal assets worth Tk 4 crore.
Absconding Md Shahed is accused in at least 32 cases including giving fake certificates of coronavirus test and cheating people in the name of treatment. He has taken advantages by introducing himself as a member of the Awami League's International Affairs Sub-Committee. He had a close relationship with several influential leaders of the Awami League.
After the elite force RAB raided his hospitals and sealed the hospitals, Awami League leaders claimed that he came to attend various meetings and seminars of the sub-committee. However, he was never associated with the Awami League in his life earlier.
According to credible sources, the ruling Awami League and its associate bodies still have many infiltrators such as Khaled Mahmud Bhuiyan, Papia and Md Shahed. Before the Awami League conference last year, Sheikh Hasina handed over a list of 2,500 such people to the party leaders for taking strict action against them. But for mysterious reason, many of them are still in the ruling party.
Sheikh Hasina herself took the initiative to make the party free from such hybrid leaders. As part of this, she launched a massive cleansing campaign inside the party.
Seeking anonymity two central leaders of Awami League told that long-tested and dedicated leaders have been deprived from posts. As a result, the grassroots level leaders and activists got frustrated. Most of the hybrid leaders were reportedly settled in the party's central sub-committee.
Top leaders of the party said, Sheikh Hasina is again going to order to identify and expel all controversial persons from the party as soon as possible. The suspects are under her surveillance.
