The posts, telecommunications and information technology ministry has ordered the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission to take action against at least 36 serving and former officials, including former chair Md Mohiuddin Ahmed.
The ministry gave the order on July 30, citing recent investigations that have found allegations of irregularities, including violations in recruitment and promotion rules, against them well-grounded.
Thirty-four officials are to be made officers on special duty until the release of a white paper, which a task force is preparing.
The task force was set up in April 20 to investigate irregularities and corruption in the information and communications technology sector that have happened for 15 years.
The other two are former chair Mohiuddin, who resigned in August 2024, and former commissioner Musfiq Mannan Choudhury.
The ministry letter has asked the commission to recover the salaries and allowances paid to Musfiq as he was appointed commissioner without any agreement being signed with the government.
The letter, issued on recommendations of three investigation committees formed in 2021 and 2024 by the Posts and Telecommunications Division, has also instructed the commission to take action against other members on the staff, apart from the 36 at hand, named in the investigation reports.
The commission chair Md Emdad Ul Bari on August 14 said, 鈥榃e are looking into the issue. We鈥檒l discuss it at the next meeting in the last week this month. We鈥檒l make a decision after the meeting.鈥�
The letter says that investigations have found 29 officials, including deputy directors Asaduzzaman and Sharmin Sultana, having been appointed junior consultants in 2009 in violation of the 2009 recruitment rules.
Fifteen of them were ineligible to apply and be appointed as their age and educational qualifications did not meet the job requirements.
A commission official has said that 11 of the 29 officials have left their job at different times.
Officials including Yakub Ali Bhuiyan, Aftab Md Wadud and MA Taleb were made directors although they had not served for at least four years as deputy directors, as the rules required.
The investigation also found the commission鈥檚 director general for the legal division Ashish Kumar Kundu guilty of delaying the decision-making process.
The director general for the administrative division Abdullah Al Mamun was found negligent in duty for following orders from higher authorities that violated rules and regulations.
The letter says that the commission also appointed 17 drivers in breach of recruitment rules.
