ACC raids Benapole Customs House : Revenue official, NGO member detained with bribe money
Jashore Correspondent
Revenue officer Shamima Akhtar and a local NGO worker named Hasibur Rahman were arrested red-handed along with two lakh sixty-five thousand taka in bribe during a raid by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) at the Benapole Customs House in Jessore. However, after a four-hour meeting, the revenue officer released Shamima and handed over only NGO worker Hasibur to the police station, raising questions across the area.
The incident took place on Monday afternoon. A team led by Jessore District ACC Deputy Director Md. Salauddin Ahmed suddenly conducted a raid at Benapole Customs House. During the raid, two hundred and sixty-five thousand taka was recovered after searching multiple rooms including the revenue, assessment and administrative branches. At that time, local NGO worker Hasibur Rahman was arrested along with the money.
ACC sources said that during initial interrogation, Hasibur said that the money belonged to revenue officer Shamima Akhter. Later, when ACC officials went to Shamima's room and asked about it, she admitted to owning the money. After that, both of them were taken to the Customs Commissioner's office and questioned. There, the Commissioner, ACC officials and some senior officials held a four-hour meeting. After the meeting, revenue officer Shamima Akhter was released, but Hasibur was handed over to Benapole Port Police Station.
When the news of the raid spread, journalists were not allowed to enter the Customs Commissioner's office to gather information. After waiting for about four hours, the ACC officials quickly left the place without any formal briefing. At that time, the discourteous behavior of an ACC official caused anger among the journalists, which later turned into a protest.
The release of the revenue officer despite the arrest of two people along with the bribe money has raised many questions in the public mind. Many in the local civil society have commented that the incident is questionable. According to them, not arresting the responsible officer despite the recovery of the bribe money and confession will weaken the process of combating corruption. They have demanded a transparent investigation into the incident and bringing the real culprits to justice.
The incident at Benapole Customs House has become the center of discussion across the area. Some say it is the result of administrative influence, while others believe that an attempt is being made to cover up the entire incident. Now it remains to be seen how impartially the Anti-Corruption Commission can complete the investigation of this incident and bring the real criminals to justice.
