Chairman of the Bangladesh Technical Education Board (BTEB) Ali Akbar Khan cannot evade responsibility for the certificate scam.

He must provide a specific explanation within two days; otherwise, legal action will be initiated against him.

Additional Commissioner (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police Harun Or Rashid made the remarks while talking to reporters at his office after interrogating the former chairman on Tuesday.

Earlier, Ali Akbar Khan came to the DB office on Mintoo Road to respond to a call from the DB.

Harun said, “The ex-chairman has tried to avoid his liability over the certificate-making and selling. The DB has given him two days. He will have to explain the specific allegation. Legal steps will be taken against him unless an explanation is given along with evidence of a scam.”

He said that the DB arrested six persons, including the wife of the former chairman, over the certificate scam; of them, five gave confessional statements.

The wife of Ali Akabar confessed that he took money from the ex-system analyst of the BTEB Shamsuzzaman, the ringleader of the certificate-making and selling racket.

The DB officer said that they asked the ex-chairman how the certificates were made and sold and why he did not take any action.

Ali Akbar responded that they could not monitor due to manpower. 

On the involvement of his wife, he said that he was unaware.

After emerging from the DB grilling, Ali Akbar told reporters that he could not avoid the liability in the sense that he was the chairman of the BTEB.

He urged the DB to unearth the facts and bring the real accused to justice.

On his wife, he said that he was unaware that his wife was involved in the crime.

On the certificate sold after making it through illegal means, he said that he did not see the certificate website, though it was said that the certificates are available online.

On taking Tk 20 lakh as a bribe, he said it was false.

On 1 April, DB Lalbagh Division arrested the system analyst and one of his cohorts with certificates, certificate-making papers, and others.

During primary interrogation, he said that he, with the help of several others, made about 5,000 certificates and provided those to people in exchange for a handsome amount of money.

BDST: 2115 HRS, April 23, 2024
MSK