Cox’s bazar: The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has filed a charge sheet against five individuals in a case involving assistance to a Rohingya woman in Cox’s Bazar to illegally acquire a Bangladeshi passport. Tushar Ahmed, Assistant Director of the ACC’s Cox’s Bazar Integrated District Office, submitted the charge sheet to the Cox’s Bazar Senior Special Judge’s Court.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the accused include Rafiqul Islam, a former councilor and panel mayor-2 of Ward No. 11 of Cox’s Bazar Municipality, Mizanur Rahman, a former councilor of Ward No. 2, Md. Helal Uddin Badsha, a resident of New Baharchhara, and ASI Sajedur Rahman from the Special Branch (DSB) of Cox’s Bazar District Police. Abdur Rahim, the ACC’s lawyer in Cox’s Bazar, confirmed the submission of the charge sheet.
The case revolves around a woman named Yasmin Akhter, who applied for a passport on June 7, 2017, at the Cox’s Bazar Regional Passport Office, claiming residency in Ward No. 2 of Cox’s Bazar Municipality. She submitted documents indicating her identity, including a national identity card and citizenship certificate, which were allegedly endorsed by the concerned ward councilor.
However, further investigations revealed that Yasmin Akhter, whose real name is Nurunnahar Begum, is a Rohingya citizen from Myanmar, residing in the Kutupalong Rohingya camp in Ukhia upazila of Cox’s Bazar. The ACC investigation report highlighted that her documents were attested by Ward No. 11 Councillor and Panel Mayor-2 Rafiqul Islam, while Ward Councilor Mizanur Rahman also played a role in the attestation process.
Helal Uddin Badsha, a resident of Ward No. 2, reportedly obtained a Bangladeshi nationality certificate by falsely presenting the Rohingya woman as his sister. Furthermore, ASI Sajedur Rahman of the Cox’s Bazar District Police Special Branch signed the police report on behalf of Yasmin Akhter.
The original case was filed on March 25, 2021, against seven individuals accused of aiding Yasmin Akhter in securing a Bangladeshi passport. The plaintiff in the case was Md. Sharif Uddin, the then Deputy Assistant Director of the ACC’s Integrated District Office Chittagong-2.
Following an extensive investigation, the ACC decided to submit the charge sheet against five of the original seven accused. The names of former inspector Prabhash Chandra Dhar and former councilor Jabed Mohammad Kaiser Noble were excluded from the charge sheet due to a lack of evidence of their involvement.