Special Correspondent

There is panic among the corrupt officials and employees of various government departments as the information of large amount of illegal wealth of several officials including former IGP Benazir Ahmed and National Board of Revenue officer Matiur Rahman has come to light.

Apart from information about the illegal wealth of corrupt officials and their family members being published in the media, intelligence agencies including the Anti-Corruption Commission have started investigations, creating a frightening situation among the officials of various organizations and departments including the police, customs, engineering and administration cadres.

On the other hand, honest officers are uncomfortable because of corrupt colleagues. Several officials said that many of the relatives and friends are facing an embarrassing situation.

They said that the common people are losing trust in government officials as information about corruption is published in the media and social media.

A joint secretary of the BCS administration cadre said that although there were complaints of corruption earlier, the information of corruption of such a large number of officials was never revealed. Most of the administration officials are honest. The common people of the country are angry because the illegal wealth of a few corrupt officials has come to the fore. There is a lot of writing about it on social media. It is normal to panic among others as the information of corruption of some people is caught. Because many people are afraid of who files a complaint against him and when an investigation is started against him.

A joint secretary of the Parliament Secretariat said that many of the relatives now think that he has a lot of wealth as he is a government official. Friends also called and asked how many flats I have bought in Dhaka. Many people like me are embarrassed by such questions.

He said that honor is far from being a thing, because of the corrupt, no one trusts even the honest officials of the administration. Instead, he wants to discuss various irregularities and corruption.

Several officials of the Ministry of Public Administration said that due to the corruption of Benazir Ahmed and Matiur Rahman, more instability and fear was created among the officials of the police, customs and administration cadres.

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) got the information about Tk 19 crore deposited in 18 banks in the name of the father-in-law and mother-in-law of National Board of Revenue (NBR) First Secretary Kazi Abu Mahmud Faisal and later withdrawing a large part of it. The court ordered the seizure of immovable properties and bank accounts of Faisal and his family.

After this news came to the media, the panic among the officials increased. Officials of sub-registry offices and various engineering-related departments are also in panic. Everyone is busy looking for ways to protect themselves. Many of those who have homes abroad are also planning to quit their jobs and move abroad.

Out of 26 cadres of BCS in government services, 14 are known as general cadres. There are 12 professional cadres. In total, among these 26 cadres, officers of 9 cadres including police, customs, customs and excise, engineering and administration are now in fear. Especially the officers of Customs Excise, Audit and Accounts Cadre are very scared. Several officers of this cadre are now going to be caught in the net of the ACC, according to various media reports.

Apart from this, among the professional cadres, they are also in fear as various allegations have already been raised about the corruption of officials of public works, roads and highways, forest, public health engineering and BCS railway cadre. There has been discomfort at all levels including the District Commissioner and District Superintendent of Police. The officials of the field administration are worried because the corruption of the big bosses has been exposed. However, those who are honest officials are welcoming the anti-corruption stance of the government.

Former secretary AKM Abdul Awal Majumdar said that there is more or less corruption in different countries of the world. However, in recent times, Bangladesh's corruption has overtaken other countries. The role played by the media against the corrupt is commendable. Urging the accused to be brought under the law, he said corruption should be stopped at any cost.

He said, out of lakhs of candidates, few people get government jobs. So those who got government job, they are undoubtedly lucky. So they should be grateful to the state and the people. Apart from this, it is important to test the integrity of those who go to the top positions of the administration. Because not everyone can go to the top.

Several MPs from the ruling Awami League and the opposition have expressed their anger in the National Parliament by accusing government officials of corruption. They said, even if they are not involved in corruption, politicians have to take responsibility for corruption.

Mahbub-ul Alam Hanif, Joint General Secretary of Awami League and Member of Parliament of Kushtia-2 Constituency, said that corruption is dimming all the achievements of the government. Despite the zero tolerance policy, corruption could not be curbed or controlled. Today there is instability in the market, commodity prices increase. Control is difficult. If there is free flow of corruption in the market it can never be controlled. To control the market, corruption should be controlled first.

Hanif said that the salary of government employees has been increased in phases. Their facilities have been enhanced. Still why would there be corruption?