Staff Correspondent

Mahfuzur Rahman Mita, former Member of Parliament of Chittagong-3 Constituency (Swandip) was 'exonerated' from the ongoing corruption investigation in the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) three and a half years ago.

Allegations were that he acquired huge wealth through irregularities and corruption. Mita was acquitted despite the fact that there were various facts in the complaint filed with the ACC.

There are rumours, the agency closed its investigation because of the Awami League government in power. However, after losing power, Mita has to stand in the ACC again.

Now it is being said by the ACC that he has become the owner of huge wealth through various irregularities and corruption during his 3-term tenure as an MP. The report of the Detective Unit of ACC also found evidence of Mita's corruption.

According to sources, he has acquired illegal wealth through various irregularities and corruption including various corruption and unethical activities through abuse of power while performing the duties of the MP. His annual income was Tk 47 lakh 5 thousand 805 in the affidavit submitted in 2014 10th National Assembly election. In the last 10 years, his income has increased to 94 lakh 67 thousand 824 taka. Which is 101.2 percent more than the annual income of 2014 and the movable assets increased by more than 199.23 percent. The movable and immovable assets of wife Mahmuda Mahfuz increased by more than 190 percent.

In the initial investigation of the ACC, there was a plot in Purbachal in the name of Mita and his wife, a building built on 5 khata land in Motijheel, a flat in Gulshan, a plot of 5 khata land in Diabari in Uttara, a house in Haramia Sandwip and evidence of smuggling crores of rupees to various countries including the United States through Mahfuzur Rahman money exchange.

Earlier, in 2020, the ACC gave no objection investigation against Mita. The commission adopted strict secrecy in disposing of the complaint against Mita.

After approving the settlement of the complaint in 2021, on March 2, the then ACC Secretary Dr Anwar Hossain informed the concerned about the exemption of Hawladar in a letter. After that the matter was informed by letter to Mahfuzur Rahman Mita as well as the Cabinet Secretary and Senior Secretary of National Parliament Secretariat were also informed by copy. According to related sources, the investigation against Mita was hastily completed in the interest of ACC Chairman Iqbal Mahmud, who retired on March 9, 2021.

According to the complaint against Mita at that time and the investigation of the ACC, 50 katha of land in the name of Rupali Life Insurance Limited owned by herself in Purbachal of Dhaka, another 5 katha of land in Purbachal in her name, a flat in Gulshan-2 Raju, a flat in Chittagong Housing Society and Mirpur Housing in Dhaka. Mita became the owner of plots in Noakhali and Khulna. The ACC had also alleged that MP Mita had smuggled a large amount of illegally earned money to Australia through her PS Jasim, office officials Maqsood and Omar Farooq.

According to sources, Mahfuzur Rahman Mita became more reckless after becoming MP for the second term in 2018. At that time, he collected 10 percent commission from the contracting company M/s Anwar Landmark, M/s Biswas Builders and M/s Dolly Construction for the construction of dam of Tk 197 crore of Water Development Board. Not only that, this former MP of Chittagong-3 Constituency provided low-quality construction materials with his own people by unethically interfering when the contractors started work.

Further allegations against Mita say that Mita has committed irregularities in the Tk 72 crore tender (Tender number-219654) for the construction of Delwar Khan Road in Sandwip under the implementation of Roads and Township Department. Three contractors participated in the tender for this road. Awami League leader and Zilla Parishad member Aftab Khan Ami's company 'Rav-RC' called for the lowest price, but Mita got the third highest bidder Jamaat leader Zahedur Rahman Jhilam the job at a higher price of Tk 4.5 crore without giving the work order to that company. After the irregularities and corruption in the tender of this road, the information of massive irregularities in the construction work also came to the fore. Hundreds of shops and buildings in various markets of Sandwip were demolished without giving any kind of compensation in order to embezzle the huge amount of land acquisition money for road construction.

Mahfuzur Rahman Mita's involvement in BIWTA's secret jetty construction corruption was also found at that time. The then government planned to construct a new jetty at Guptachara Ghat in Sandwip with a cost of Tk 52.64 million. Mita gave the unofficial letter to give the construction of this jetty to the contractor M/S SS Rahman. He was accused of getting work done by his own contractor in exchange for commission. Apart from this, it is known that former MP Mita distributed the work of 27 bridges tendered by PIO office of Sandwip in 2018 among his own people in exchange of 15 percent commission.

The education sector of Sandwip is also not spared from tender and commission trade. In a complaint to the ACC in 2020, it was said that no contractor could participate in the work tender of the Department of Education and Engineering without the permission of Mita. In return for paying a fixed amount of commission, one contractor nominated by MP participates in all the tenders of this department. Mita saved it by promising to get work on commission. As a result, his blessed contractor gets that job too.

In this way, Mita was accused of abuse of power, extortion, land robbery, recruitment of contractors with 10 to 20 percent bribes, irregularities, corruption, nepotism and acquisition of wealth beyond known income. In that context, on October 6, 2020, the head of the organization to investigate the complaint against him.