Dhaka, Feb 09 (V7N) – An Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) investigation team raided the National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) office on Sunday afternoon to verify allegations that an Indian company was illegally awarded a contract to print textbooks during the Awami League government led by Sheikh Hasina, who fled to India amid the recent student-public movement.

The ACC team, comprising Assistant Director Tapas Bhattacharya and Deputy Assistant Director Rokanuzzaman, conducted the raid to investigate these claims.

Rokanuzzaman stated, "We came to NCTB to verify information about some corruption during the Awami League government. Most of those present, including the chairman, were recently appointed. We did not get much of the documents that were required." He further added, "A South Korean company has filed an application with the NCTB to investigate irregularities. The NCTB has provided us with a copy of that application. Our investigation will not be completed on this. We need to see several related documents. The work will be ongoing."

The allegations revolve around claims that during the Awami League regime, an Indian company was awarded the printing of 20 million textbooks despite irregularities in the bidding process. It is alleged that a South Korean company, TPS, which was the lowest bidder in a tender for the 2017 academic year, was overlooked in favor of the Indian firm. The TPS bid was valued at approximately Tk 50 crore, but the contract was allegedly awarded to the Indian company due to high-level political influence within the Awami League government.

The ACC is investigating the foreign exchange loss caused by outsourcing the textbook printing to India. Additionally, the agency is gathering documents related to irregularities and corruption in textbook contracts during the previous government's tenure.

When approached for comments, NCTB Chairman Professor Riazul Hasan said, "The ACC team wanted to see information and documents from us, and we showed some. They have printed the documents as required. We will provide them with some more documents. We want an investigation into the matter and the truth to come out."

END/MSS/AJ