Beradoma Bridge corruption: ACC sues Tangail mayor, 5 others for embezzling over Tk73 lakh
The Beradoma Bridge collapsed on 16 June 2022
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has filed a case against Tangail Mayor SM Sirajul Haque and five others for alleged corruption in the Beradoma Bridge construction and embezzlement of over Tk73 lakh.
The others accused in the case are three engineers, a project director, and a contractor. ACC Tangail Division's Assistant Director Biplob Hossain filed the case as the plaintiff today (2 July).
Earlier on 26 June, when the ACC approved the case, the mayor was contacted.
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He told The Business Standard, "I am now in Australia for personal work. I don't know anything about the case yet, so I don't want to talk about it at this moment."
According to the case statement, the construction cost of the 8-metre-wide and 30-metre-long bridge was estimated at Tk3.6 crore.
On 12 November 2020, two contractors jointly started the construction.
The Beradoma Bridge collapsed on 16 June 2022. There were media reports of irregularities and corruption in the construction of the bridge, including the use of bamboo instead of rods.
The ACC investigated the matter and found that the contractor company did not follow the drawings and designs. The engineers only warned the contractor company by letter, but did not take any steps to stop the casting work. They were also present during the casting.
There were also allegations of widespread irregularities and excessive billing in the construction of the bridge.
The ACC case has been filed under Section 409/109 of the Penal Code and Section 5 (2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947.
The case was earlier recommended for approval by the ACC in a letter signed on 22 February.
