The Anti-Corruption Commission has launched an inquiry into corruption allegations against the officials involved in the polling centres that reported 100 per cent voter turnout in the controversial parliamentary elections in 2018.
The ACC in January this year formed a five-member inquiry team to probe into allegations of the 鈥榤idnight voting鈥� in the 2018 elections to identify individuals involved in the alleged vote rigging and abuse of power.
As part of the inquiry, the ACC on Monday sent a letter to the Election Commission seeking information on the officials involved in the polling stations where 100 per cent voter turnout was recorded in the 2018 Jatiya Sangsad polls.
Asked, ACC director general (prevention) Md Akhtar Hossain at a press briefing on Monday said that the inquiry team sent the letter to collet necessary information regarding the inquiry over the allegation of vote rigging.
He said that the ACC was conducting an inquiry into the individuals allegedly involved in vote rigging and power abuse during the JS elections.
A member of the inquiry team said that the ACC had already obtained documents related to several officials and they were collecting聽 information to identify the officials involved in vote rigging and their illegal wealth allegedly accumulated by way of irregularities in the elections.
According to the allegations, Awami League leaders and activists of various tires executed the so-called 鈥榤idnight voting鈥� during the 2018 elections upon instructions from the then prime minister Sheikh Hasina, and AL general secretary Obaidul Quader.
Besides, the then inspector general of police Javed Patwary, former Dhaka Metropolitan Police commissioner Asaduzzaman Mia, former RAB chief Benazir Ahmed, former IGP Shahidul Haque, Sheikh Hasina鈥檚 defence adviser Tarique Ahmed Siddique, then public administration adviser HT Imam, now late, as well as various government and Election Commission officials at different levels allegedly helped in committing the polls irregularities.
Meanwhile, the Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Court on Monday imposed a travel ban on former foreign minister Mohammad Hasan Mahmud and his wife Nuran Fatema over graft allegations.
DMSS judge Md Jakir Hossain passed the order, allowing an ACC plea.
The court also ordered freezing Hasan Mahmud鈥檚 nine and his wife鈥檚 12 bank accounts over the same allegations. It also ordered seizing an SUV of the former minister.
The ACC earlier on April 6 filed two separate cases against Hasan Mahmud and his wife over allegations of amassing illegal wealth of Tk 6.63 crore and suspicious transactions of Tk 722 crore.
After the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government was overthrown on August 5, 2024, Hasan Mahmud, also a former lawmaker for the Chattogram-7 constituency, fled the country.
The ACC on Monday filed a case against former lawmaker Ziaur Rahman on charges of amassing illegal wealth worth Tk 1.8 crore.
ACC DG Akhtar Hossain at a briefing said that the ACC also found suspicious transactions of Tk 10 crore in five bank accounts of Ziaur Rahman who was former lawmaker for the Chapainawabganj-1 constituency.聽
The ACC also issued a notice asking Ziaur Rahman鈥檚 wife Kashmeri Begum to submit her wealth statement to the commission.