B'desh HC: Identify plotters behind Padma Bridge conspiracy

A Bangladeshi court today asked the government why it shall not be directed to form an inquiry committee or commission to identify and bring the people to justice who "fabricated stories of corruption" about the Padma Bridge Project, resulting in World Bank's withdrawal from it.
"A two-member High Court bench issued a suo-moto rule seeking to try the 'conspirators' in keeping with the 1956 Inquiry Act and other related laws," a spokesman from the attorney general's office told reporters.
He said the judges asked the government to explain in two weeks why the court should not instruct it to form a committee to track down the "conspirators" of the false claims over the project, now being constructed without the World Bank finances.

The court order came four days after a Canadian court ruled that it found no proof of Padma Bridge bribery conspiracy, reliving Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government of a corruption stigma.
The Canadian court acquitted three business executives of charges that SNC-Lavalin Group Inc staff planned to bribe Bangladesh officials in its efforts to win a USD 50 million contract to supervise the Padma Bridge construction.
"Reduced to its essentials, the information provided in the (wiretap applications) was nothing more than speculation, gossip and rumour," the media said, quoting the judgement.

The allegations had forced a senior minister to quit and a top Bangladeshi official was sent to jail over the issue.

The construction work of the huge structure over the Padma River is underway with Bangladesh's own money while a Chinese firm was tasked to build the bridge.
Hasina, however, constantly refuted the allegations over the project, a year after the World Bank in 2012 scrapped its USD 1.2 billion fund commitment for the Padma Bridge, claiming it had proof of a corruption conspiracy involving officials.
In her first reaction following the Canadian court ruling, Hasina said honesty powered her to challenge World Bank over Padma Bridge as the cabinet appreciated her firm stance in negating the allegations.
"I always believe in one thing - I could take the challenge because I have the power of honesty," she earlier said in a reaction following the Canadian court ruling.

Hasina's son Sajib Wajed Joy demanded apology of those who raised allegations of graft in the awarding of contracts for the Padma Bridge to the government.
In December 2012, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) had filed a case of "conspiracy for corruption in the Padma Bridge project" against seven people including former bridges division secretary Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan.
Later, the ACC found no evidence against them.
The Padma bridge graft case was dismissed in 2014 after ACC submitted its final probe report. The court acquitted seven, including the secretary from the charges.