Question leak: PSC chair's ex chauffeur held with son, 15 others
The arrestees also include Abed Ali's son Syed Sohanur Rahman Siam
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has detained 17 people, including three officials of the Bangladesh Public Service Commission (PSC), over allegations of leaking question papers for public service recruitment examinations.
The arrestees include PSC chairman's former chauffeur Abed Ali, said CID Additional Police Superintendent Jewel Chakma told TBS today (8 July).
The CID also detained Abed Ali's son Syed Sohanur Rahman Siam, also the relief and disaster management secretary of Bangladesh Chhatra League's Dhaka North unit. The organisation expelled him after his detention, according to a press release of the unit.
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Chakma said the 17 were detained during raids at various spots in the country over the last two days. A CID team is investigating the question leak allegations and the raid will continue in the coming days, he added.
Other arrestees are PSC deputy directors Abu Zafar and Jahangir Alam, Assistant Director Alamgir Kabir, office assistants Sajedul Islam and Khalilur Rahman, an official of the CID's media wing said.
The team also detained Auditor Priyanath Roy, Narayanganj Regional Passport Office security guard Shahadat Hossain, Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital medical technician Niamun Hasan, and five others named Md Zahidul Islam, Md Mamunur Rashid, Sakhawat Hossain, Sayem Hossain, and Liton Sarkar.
A recent investigation by a private media outlet uncovered a scandal involving leaked question papers for 30 recruitment exams, including the BCS.
The report revealed that a syndicate of six officials and employees of the PSC had been involved in leaking exam questions for a long time. One of the accused is Syed Abed Ali alias Jibon.
A businessman named Md Sohel, who reportedly went missing on Sunday, is also among the arrestees, said a CID official but none confirmed this on record.
'Chauffeur to a millionaire'
Despite being a chauffeur, Abed Ali, a resident of Dasar Upazila in Madaripur district, has amassed a fortune worth millions, according to a report by Channel 24.
Following the revelation of his involvement in the exam leak, netizens made it a trending topic yesterday with reports of his vast wealth, he owns two multi-storeyed buildings in Dhaka and a luxurious house in Madaripur, surfacing on social media.
Though not all the reports could be verified, Abed Ali himself posted about his hotel on a Facebook page under his name.
He can be seen hosting gatherings and events on his Facebook page as well. In a post dated 18 May, he wrote, "Today, I laid the foundation stone of our new hotel. Hotel Sun Marina, Kuakata."
Social media users are now questioning how a chauffeur could accumulate such wealth.
Abed Ali's son, Syed Sohanur Rahman Siam, has also become a topic of discussion on social media. Siam posted on social media videos of him "helping people".
Siam posted a picture of his father, Abed Ali, on Facebook, which also went viral. The caption reads, "Dad went to Kuakata for a business trip, and a local brother took this photo and sent it to my inbox. My dad never neglects his prayers, finding a pure place to pray wherever he is. Such devotion to the Creator is remarkable. May Allah accept my father's prayers."
Sohel in 'CID custody'
Businessman Md Sohel, who reportedly went missing on Sunday, is in the custody of CID.
Sohel's contact information was found with one of the members of the question leak gang, said the CID official, wishing anonymity. "He has been taken into CID custody for interrogation regarding the matter."
However, Superintendent of Police Azad Rahman, spokesperson for CID's media wing, stated that he was unaware about any arrest or detention of a businessman named Sohel.
According to Sohel's family members, a group of people wearing DB police vests came to their house in the capital's Mirpur area around 8am on Sunday and took Sohel with them.
Sohel, executive director of Mirpur Club Builders, is a former student of Dhaka University.
