Innocent man saved from being victimised of ACC’s ‘wrong investigation’

Mohammad Kamrul Islam, hailing from Noakhali's East Rajarampur has been saved from being another victim of the Anti-Corruption Commission's "wrong investigation" like innocent jute mill worker Jaha Alam.

However, the ACC has admitted to the High Court that it made a mistake by conducting the investigation wrongly in a fraud case and pressing charge sheet against the innocent man.

The man was almost sent to jail for 15 years due to another identity mix-up. The only silver lining in this case is that he never had to go to jail where the innocent jute mill worker Jaha Alam, had been behind bars for more than three years due to ACC's "wrong probe".

The Anti- Corruption Commission (then Bureau) filed a case in 2003 against the young man alleging that he forged a SSC certificate of 1998 and got admitted to HSC.

The chargesheet was filed 10 years later and after the trial in 2014, the Noakhali court showed the accused as a fugitive and sentenced him to 15 years in three counts.

He was also fined Tk 10 thousand for each count.

Police were looking for a man named Kamrul Islam, son of Md Abul Khayer hailing from West Rajarampur village in Noakhali Sadar upazila.

However, due to a "bona fide mistake" by the ACC, the police were searching to arrest a Mohammad Kamrul Islam in East Rajarampur village who not only shares the same name as the accused but also do their fathers.

Seeing the police trying to arrest him, Kamrul Islam filed a writ petition in the High Court saying he was born in 1990 and that he was never admitted to the concerned college. The High Court then issued a rule.

In response to the rule, the ACC said that it is a bona fide mistake. Following a hearing on the rule on Tuesday, the court set a date for next Thursday.

Lawyer Minhazul Haque Chowdhury stood for the youth who filed the writ petition in the court and lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan on behalf of ACC.

According to the writ, this Kamrul Islam was born on January 15, 1990. He passed SSC from Harinarayanpur High School in 2006 but could not get admission in HSC due to poverty. He joined the Laxmipur court on 8 July, 2006 as an MLSS. Later he was transferred to Noakhali court where he has been working as an office assistant since 29 January, 2019.

The High Court issued a rule on the writ on 5 November last year and sought an explanation from the ACC. In response to the rule, the ACC admitted the mistake.

On Tuesday, ACC lawyer Md Khurshid Alam Khan said, "The mistake that has been made in the name of the village is our bona fide mistake. We agree with his writ. However, Kamrul never went to jail. We do not want any innocent person to go to jail."