Since the August 5 changeover, the interim government has used the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to withdraw cases against Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus and other allies of the government.
On the other hand, hundreds of cases have been filed against politicians, including former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her family members, ministers, MPs, government officials, and businessmen affiliated with the Awami League.
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The ACC has also appealed to courts to issue bans on their travelling abroad and freeze the bank accounts of the targeted persons.
Several noted citizens, including Prof Abul Barkat and Prof Nazmul Ahsan Kalimullah, who raised their voices against the governmentโs misdeeds, have also been arrested in a hurry without proper investigation.
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However, the ACC has been mysteriously silent and sluggish in its progress with the investigation into corruption allegations against several private secretaries of three advisers and a top leader of Yunusโ National Citizen Party (NCP).
Journalists, rights activists, and retired civil servants have expressed frustration over the ACCโs activities since last August.
The now-defunct National Board of Revenue (NBR) has been the main target of the government, where a massive movement erupted in June-July after an ordinance divided the NBR into two divisions in a hurry. They also demanded the resignation of the chairman.
The government declared the NBR services โessentialโ and ordered protesting officials back to work under threat of disciplinary action. It also used the ACC to intimidate the top 16 officers involved in the movement.
Several NCP leaders, including Hasnat Abdullah, came to the aid of the government to stop the movement. Of them, Hasnat Abdullah, who is unpopular for creating mobs, threatened the protesting NBR employees with dire consequences, labelling them as Awami League supporters.
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In the past two months, the government dismissed 27 NBR officers for their involvement in the movement and sent some others into compulsory retirement for participating in the movement.
On September 16, the NBR transferred and posted 555 assistant revenue officers in two orders–one involving 459 officials and another 96–only a day after the transfer of 182 officials.
On August 10, the government transferred and posted 12 assistant commissioners of the BCS (Customs and Excise) cadre.
On July 31, as many as 49 NBR officials were transferred. Among them, 25 are additional commissioners and 24 are joint commissioners.
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