Khulna: A court here today sentenced three individuals to seven years of rigorous imprisonment for allegedly leaking answer sheets of the preliminary examination for the recruitment of primary assistant teachers. The court also imposed a fine of Taka 5 lakh on each convict, with an additional one-year imprisonment in case of default. Another accused in the case was acquitted.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the verdict was pronounced by Judge Arunava Chakraborty of the Khulna Cyber Tribunal (Senior District and Sessions Judge) this afternoon, with the convicts present in the courtroom. Bench Assistant Gopal Chandra Pal confirmed the details of the judgment.
The convicts have been identified as Reshma Khatun, wife of Sakhawat Hossain from Ispahani Lane under Sadar Police Station, Ferdousi Afroze, wife of Belaluzzaman from Munshipara Second Lane, and Md Abul Hasan, son of Haji Alauddin from Sheikhpara Main Road. The acquitted accused is Mahbubur Rahman, son of Kalam Molla alias Kolom from Gopalpur village under Kashiani upazila of Gopalganj district.
Court sources revealed that police received information in August 2015 about a fraud gang operating in Khulna, which was collecting large sums of money from candidates under the guise of sending the answer sheets of the primary assistant teacher recruitment examination, scheduled for August 16, 2015, via mobile phones.
Upon receiving the information, a team of plainclothes detectives, led by DB Sub-Inspector Bahauddin Molla, conducted surveillance around the Hotel Royal intersection. On the evening of August 17, the detectives discovered that members of the fraud gang were on the fourth floor of a house at Ispahani Lane under Sadar Police Station.
Police then executed a raid, detaining the suspects. During interrogation, the detainees allegedly confessed to their involvement in the crime. Subsequently, DB Sub-Inspector Bahauddin Molla filed a case with Sadar Police Station under the Information and Communication Technology Act. Detective Branch Inspector Molla Abdul Bari later submitted a charge-sheet against the four accused before the court.