The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed a case against eight people, including former information minister Hasanul Haq Inu and former information minister Mohammad Hasan Mahmud, over the alleged embezzlement of 6.64 crore taka in the name of constructing a bronze mural of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at Bangladesh Betar, causing financial losses to the government.

ACC Deputy Assistant Director Md Mostafizur Rahman filed the case at the commission’s Integrated District Office in Dhaka-1 on Sunday, ACC Secretary Md Saidur Rahman Khan confirmed.

Saidur said the revised Development Project Proforma (DPP) guidelines allow changes to a project only when the proposed component is essential.

“Constructing a bronze sculpture was not essential. It was undertaken in violation of the guidelines, causing financial losses to the government,” he said.

The other accused are former Bangladesh Betar directors general AKM Nesar Uddin Bhuiyan and Narayan Chandra Shil; deputy station engineer Mohammad Abdur Rahman; former senior engineer Md Zakir Hossain; former acting secretary Md Nasir Uddin Ahmed, who chaired the project steering committee; and project director Probal Kanti Das.

The accused have been charged under Sections 409 and 109 of the Penal Code and Section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947.

According to the case statement, on August 24, 2014, Kazi Zakir Hasan and Malay Kumar Ganguly, representing artists associated with Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra, applied to Bangladesh Betar’s Agargaon centre for the installation of a sculpture of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

On April 21, 2016, Bangladesh Betar officials decided to seek administrative approval and prepare designs for a Bangabandhu complex within the National Radio Building. On May 19 that year, Nesar sent a recommendation to the Ministry of Information seeking approval for the complex.

The proposal to install a mural was subsequently discussed at several ministry meetings under a project to relocate the Bangladesh Betar Shahbagh complex to Agargaon, construct new facilities and modernise the establishment.

A proposal to allocate 7 crore taka for the mural was placed at a project steering committee meeting on January 9, 2018. At a meeting chaired by Inu on January 24 that year, a decision was made to install it under the project.

At the committee’s fourth meeting on February 28, 2018, the inclusion of the mural in the project was deemed justified, and it was decided that its estimated cost would be determined.

The ACC said an official estimate of 5 crore 77 lakh 62 thousand taka was prepared on May 7, 2019, for the bronze mural on the instructions of Narayan.

On January 14, 2020, Proba was awarded the construction contract through a tender process for 5 crore 78 lakh 34 thousand taka. The mural’s design was approved at a meeting chaired by Hasan Mahmud on December 9, 2020.

According to the case statement, the contractor received a total of 6 crore 64 lakh 94 thousand taka through nine bills up to June 12, 2024. However, an on-site inspection by the ACC at Bangladesh Betar’s Agargaon centre found no trace of the mural.

The ACC alleged that the accused colluded to incorporate the non-essential construction work into the project in violation of the applicable guidelines. They allegedly abused their power and engaged in criminal misconduct, causing financial losses to the government.