Bribery allegation: Hard drive swap blamed as tribunal CCTV footage remains unrecovered
Prosecutor BM Sultan Mahmud had alleged that a family member of SI Afzalul, previously an accused in the Ashulia case involving the burning of six bodies who later turned state witness, entered the chamber of Prosecutor Gazi MH Tamim carrying a bag of money.
Investigators have found that missing CCTV footage of a family member of SI Afzalul entering the International Crimes Tribunal's prosecution office with a bag of money was caused by a hard drive replacement, with the original drive missing.
The matter has been formally reported to the tribunal's fact-finding committee, Tanvir Zoha, an IT expert of the tribunal, said at a press briefing at the International Crimes Tribunal today (1 April).
Earlier, Prosecutor BM Sultan Mahmud had alleged that a family member of Afzalul, previously an accused in the Ashulia case involving the burning of six bodies who later turned state witness last year, entered the chamber of Prosecutor Gazi MH Tamim carrying a bag of money.
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To verify what had happened that day, prosecution administrative officer Masud Rana attempted to collect CCTV footage from 13 October last year.
However, he found that the video from that specific date was missing from the hard drive.
"We have learned that the hard drives that were supposed to be in the CCTV system were replaced with a mix of old and new drives. We observed this in the CCTV logs and registry records at a preliminary stage," Tanvir said at the briefing.
"We have informed the fact-finding committee. As per ministry orders, the panel will take further steps and make recommendations. Therefore, I cannot comment further at this stage."
Although Zoha said the hard drive replacement took place last year, he could not recall the exact date.
When asked whether a general diary has been filed with the police over the incident, he said he is not aware of any such filing.
Hacked phone and WhatsApp account of ICT-1 chairman recovered
Tanvir also said the hacked phone and WhatsApp account of ICT-1 Chairman Justice Golam Mortuza Mozumder have been recovered.
He added that although law enforcement agencies have identified the hackers, they have not yet been arrested.
Regarding those involved in the hacking, Tanvir said, "We do not want to disclose the IP address at this stage. As it is a matter under legal process, it would be appropriate to speak after obtaining it through lawful means."
A general diary was filed at Shahbagh Police Station on 24 March over the hacking of the ICT-1 chairman's personal Facebook and WhatsApp accounts.
The complaint stated that the accounts active on his mobile phone were hacked on 18 March.
