Sheikh Hasina News: Government officials were found to be involved in corruption. The Prime Minister himself had to order an investigation. The Prime Minister's Patawala also became the owner of property worth crores…The Prime Minister's one-time Patawala travels in a helicopter today. Corruption has now reached its peak. Here we are talking about India's neighboring country Bangladesh. Here we are talking about Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Here we are talking about Bangladesh's high officials and the corruption done by them…
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has announced that she is 'taking action' after several corruption scandals have surfaced, including the case of her former domestic servant who embezzled $34 million (2,84. 23,49,000.00 INR) from her one-time boss, half of whose wealth he has amassed today. The one-time traveller now travels in helicopters.
'Corruption is an old problem' –
“Corruption is an old problem. These irregularities must be removed…we are taking action,” Hasina told the media late Sunday night. The prime minister said this also includes action against her domestic helpers – 'patwala' or orderly. “The man who used to work as a peon in my house – now has 400,00,00,000 taka ($34 million). Now he travels by helicopter to go anywhere. How did he earn so much money? I took immediate action after knowing this,” Hasina said. It would take an average Bangladeshi more than 13,000 years to earn this amount. According to the World Bank, the country of about 170 million people has an average GDP per capita of $2,529.
Hasina did not reveal the servant's identity, but several newspapers identified him as Jahangir Alam, who was nicknamed 'Paani' or 'water' because of his old job as a water carrier at events. The Dhaka Tribune daily reported that the orderly used his position in Hasina's office for 'lobbying, rigging tenders and bribery'.
Opposition parties targeted –
The bureaucrats' report quickly spread on social media – with opposition parties using it to accuse Hasina's administration of corruption. “If Sheikh Hasina's patawala can make so much money, you can imagine how much money his boss must have made,” said AKM Wahiduzzaman, a spokesman for the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). He was then removed from his post.
Won the fourth consecutive general election-
Hasina, 76, won her fourth consecutive general election in January, which was held without any real opposition party. The election was widely boycotted and a major crackdown on her political opponents followed. However, since May, several high-profile corruption scandals have put the spotlight on her more than 15-year-long rule.
The Anti-Corruption Commission launched an investigation against former national police chief Benazir Ahmed – once a close ally of Hasina – accusing her of illegally amassing wealth worth millions of dollars. She denied the allegations. Washington imposed sanctions against Ahmed in 2021 because he was then leading the Rapid Action Battalion paramilitary force and for his alleged role in the disappearances and extrajudicial killings of hundreds of people.
Local newspapers in Bangladesh have also accused former army chief Aziz Ahmed of corruption in the capital Dhaka. However, he has denied these claims. The Anti-Corruption Commission has ordered the seizure of assets and freezing of bank accounts of several top tax officials as they are accused of allegedly embezzling millions of dollars. Last week, police busted a gang of selling recruitment letters to government employees before job examinations and illegally earning millions of dollars.