BTRC Moves to Reappoint Six Officials Despite Corruption Allegations
Despite being accused of irregularities and corruption in recruitment and promotion, as outlined in the white paper of the Posts and Telecommunications Division, six officials of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) who were serving as Officers on Special Duty (OSD) are set to be reinstated to their previous posts. According to reliable sources, the decision was taken at BTRC’s 303rd Commission Meeting held on Thursday, January 29, after the meeting was extended twice over two days, reportedly prioritising this issue over the regular promotion agenda for other officials and employees.
The officials slated for reappointment are: Director General Ashish Kumar Kundu, Director Md Yakub Ali Bhuiyan, Director Aftab Md Rashedul Wadud, Director SM Taleb Hossain, Deputy Director Md Asaduzzaman, and Deputy Director Sharmin Sultana.
Although it had earlier been stated that necessary follow-up actions would be taken after receiving the white paper committee’s report, the issue of reconsidering the reappointment of these six OSD officials was nonetheless included in the commission’s agenda.
A BTRC source said that recommendations for their reappointment were incorporated into the working papers of the 303rd Commission Meeting, and a positive decision was taken during the meeting. Following the observance of BTRC Day on Saturday, these six OSD officials are expected to be reinstated next week, allegedly ignoring both ministry directives and the recommendations of the white paper committee.
Several officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that proceeding with reappointments without implementing the white paper’s recommendations would send a negative message regarding transparency and accountability within the commission.
No official statement has been received from either BTRC or the Posts and Telecommunications Division regarding the matter. However, stakeholders believe that reinstating the officials before completing proper investigations and administrative actions, as recommended by the white paper committee, could seriously undermine the commission’s credibility.
Earlier, at BTRC’s 298th Commission Meeting, a decision was taken to appoint these six officials as OSDs until the publication of the white paper committee’s report, which was formed to investigate corruption during the tenure of the previous Awami League government. The same meeting also stated that appropriate follow-up actions would be taken after receiving the committee’s report.
The recently published white paper committee report names all six officials and clearly states that due process was not followed in their recruitment and promotion. Despite this, a decision is now being made to reinstate them without informing the ministry and while disregarding all related objections.
It may be recalled that BTRC had earlier decided to seek explanations from a total of 29 employees, including 15 officials recruited into the revenue cadre from junior consultant positions by violating educational qualifications and age limits, and seven officials recruited into the revenue cadre in violation of existing rules. Following reports from three separate investigation committees formed over allegations of irregularities in recruitment and promotion at BTRC since 2009, a letter was issued on July 30 last year to the BTRC Chairman by Md Shahidullah, Senior Assistant Director of the Telecom Wing of the Posts and Telecommunications Division, instructing action against the accused officials.
Investigation committees had found evidence against Ashish Kumar Kundu, Director General (Licensing), for delaying government decision-making processes; against Deputy Director Asaduzzaman for complications related to educational qualifications at the time of recruitment and travel to the United States for higher studies; and against Sharmin Sultana for age manipulation, irregular recruitment into the revenue cadre, and staying abroad without approval.
The allegations also state that Yakub Ali Bhuiyan was promoted from Deputy Director to Director after serving only six months and one day instead of the required four years; Aftab Md Wadud served one year and 22 days as Deputy Director before promotion; and SM Taleb Hossain served three years and 26 days as Deputy Director before being promoted to Director. Another investigation committee also found irregularities in Yakub Ali Bhuiyan’s appointment as Director of the Finance, Accounts, and Revenue Division.
As a result, the ministry had instructed BTRC to place the accused officials on OSD status and withdraw their signing authority, stating that the directive would remain in force until the publication of the white paper committee’s report. Additionally, in another letter issued on August 10, the Posts and Telecommunications Division instructed the BTRC Chairman—following directives from the Chief Adviser’s Special Assistant for Posts, Telecommunications, and ICT, Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb—to take action in line with the investigation committee’s recommendations.
DBTech/IMU/CMS/OR
