BTRC Boss under Bribery Probe: Shyam Sundar Shikder Faces ACC Scrutiny
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has launched an investigation into allegations of large-scale irregularities, recruitment manipulation, and illicit wealth accumulation against former Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) Chairman and poet Shyam Sundar Shikder.
Shikder, who was promoted to the rank of Secretary in 2015 and later served as Secretary of the Posts and Telecommunications Division, retired on January 9, 2019, as Senior Secretary. In 2020, he was appointed BTRC Chairman for three years with the rank of Senior Secretary. He also served as a Director at Basic Bank, where the salaries of BTRC employees were deposited, and allegedly arranged employment at the bank for his son.
According to ACC sources, the investigation is being led by Assistant Director (Enquiry and Investigation-1) Mohammad Nur Alam Siddique. As part of the inquiry, the ACC official issued a letter on September 28 requesting BTRC to submit relevant documents by October 12. The letter sought certified copies of audit reports related to BTRC’s revenue collection and monitoring system for fiscal years 2016–17 to 2019–20, as well as records concerning the appointment of 29 junior consultants and the recruitment and promotion details of former Commissioner (Finance and Revenue) Dr. Mushfiq Mannan Chowdhury, Director M.A. Taleb Hossain, Deputy Director (Administration) Faisal Rahman, and Sharmin Sultana.
While BTRC has not issued an official statement, DigiBanglaTech.news has obtained a copy of the ACC letter. Conversations with sources confirmed that partial documentation has already been submitted. Among the records provided are the BTRC inquiry committee’s findings and the commission’s meeting minutes regarding recruitment irregularities.
The documents also include bank statements showing that out of Tk 631.15 crore deposited into the International Gateway Operators Forum’s Market Development Fund (MDF), approximately 95 percent—amounting to Tk 625.83 crore—was transferred to the account of Beximco Computers Limited, despite the company not being listed as an IGW operator as of December 31, 2014. A related case has reportedly been filed by BTRC with Gulshan Police Station.
Sources allege that former Commissioner Mushfiq Mannan was involved in irregularities in the MDF fund, while then-Chairman Shyam Sundar Shikder facilitated undue benefits for IGW license holders. Additionally, 29 junior consultants, who were initially appointed in 2009 without proper regulatory procedures and absorbed into government service in 2010 following only oral examinations, allegedly received unlawful extensions and privileges during Shikder’s tenure.
It was further revealed that upon joining BTRC, Shikder appointed Faisal Rahman as Staff Officer in violation of service regulations, leading to internal grouping among commissioners and disrupting the institutional environment.
Moreover, the ACC is investigating Shikder’s alleged role in waiving a government-mandated fee of Tk 10 crore for Summit Communications Ltd. during the transfer of shares under the NTTN license, in breach of licensing guidelines. The Commission is also probing the recruitment of over a hundred employees between 2016–17 and 2019–20 without transparency, and the involvement of Director (Administration) M.A. Taleb in those irregularities. Taleb has reportedly been removed from his post following confirmation of procedural misconduct in his promotion.
When contacted for comments regarding the allegations, former BTRC Chairman Shyam Sundar Shikder declined the phone call and did not respond to follow-up messages sent via phone and WhatsApp.
