Rangamati, May 19 (V7N) - The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has received a formal complaint alleging tender fraud and misuse of electronic technology in an attempt to award a contract worth approximately Tk 21 crore for the construction of a student hostel at Rangamati University of Science and Technology. The complainant, Prof. Tapan Jyoti Chakma of M/s Modern Structure-Preeti Enterprise (JV), submitted the complaint along with supporting evidence. Zahid Kalam, Deputy Director of the ACC's Integrated Office in Rangamati, has confirmed the receipt of this complaint.

The charge sheet, dated 29/04/2025, names Md. Ali Imam, Superintending Engineer of the Education Engineering Department (EED) Chittagong Circle (Chairperson), and Bijak Chakma, Executive Engineer of EED, Rangamati (Member Secretary), as the accused. They are alleged to have colluded and abused their authority to illegally disqualify M/s Modern Structure-Preeti Enterprise (JV) for Tender ID Nos. 1053887 and 1053888. The method allegedly involved falsely attributing the ongoing work of another contracting organization to Preeti Enterprise.

The complaint letter details that M/s Modern Structure-Preeti Enterprise (JV) participated in the tenders called by the EED, Rangamati District, on 18/12/2024 and submitted bids that were 10% lower than the estimated cost. A total of three contractors submitted bids at this reduced rate for both tenders. During the initial evaluation, Md. Ali Imam and Bijak Chakma allegedly colluded to deem the complainant's organization non-responsive by citing low tender capacity outside established regulations, thereby excluding them from the tender evaluation process.

Following the complainant's communication with the Chief Engineer of EED, Dhaka, who then ordered a re-evaluation of the e-Government Procurement (EGP) process, the accused engineers allegedly devised a new strategy to again exclude M/s Modern Structure-Preeti Enterprise (JV). Unable to find a legitimate reason, they allegedly made the complainant non-responsive by falsely claiming that work from another contracting organization (Tender IDs: 668787, 133964) was being carried out under the name of the complainant's organization. The complainant asserts that verification would confirm the falsity of this claim.

The charge sheet further alleges that Superintending Engineer Md. Ali Imam and Executive Engineer Bijak Chakma are unlawfully abusing their power and attempting to award the two mentioned contracts to the same contractor (Shubhankar-QC) for their own illicit purposes.

Sources indicate that the complainants have already filed a complaint with the e-Procurement Authority regarding these allegations. A hearing to establish the initial validity of the complaint is reportedly scheduled for May 21st.

Recent information suggests that the construction work for the student hostel at Rabipur University has been halted pending a review of all documents following the filing of the e-procurement complaint. A hearing on this matter is also scheduled for the 21st.

When contacted about the complaint, Mr. Zahid Kalam of the Rangamati ACC Integrated Office confirmed receipt via WhatsApp, stating, "We have sent the complaint to Dhaka; if permission is received, an investigation will be conducted in this regard."

Earlier, Syed Mamunul Alam, Additional Secretary (Planning) of the Secondary and Higher Education Department, claimed to have not received any complaint regarding this matter when contacted.

Attempts to reach Md. Ali Imam and Bijak Chakma for comment were unsuccessful. Md. Ali Imam did not respond to calls or WhatsApp messages. Bijak Chakma repeatedly stated he was busy when contacted by phone and subsequently ignored a message sent to his messenger.

Meanwhile, anonymous sources consisting of several contractors and office staff who have previously worked at the Rangamati Department of Education and Engineering have alleged that nearly all material certificates for development projects implemented by the department over the last decade are fraudulent. They claim these certificates were obtained by forging Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology (CUET) letterheads and the signatures of relevant authorities through a specific individual. These forged documents were then allegedly submitted to the Rangamati EED, and bills were processed with the cooperation of the authorities, resulting in significant revenue loss for the government and raising serious concerns about the quality of the completed works.

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