Three Deputy Secretaries Made OSD Over Freedom Fighter Certificate Fraud
The Ministry of Public Administration has made three Deputy Secretaries Officers on Special Duty (OSD) over allegations of securing jobs in the 29th BCS examination through fraud and forgery under the freedom fighter quota. Three separate notifications were issued on Wednesday night regarding this action. The three officers made OSD are Jamalpur Zonal Settlement Officer Tofazzal Hossain, IDRA Director Rakibur Rahman Khan, and BFIDC Secretary Nahida Barik. All three were recruited into the administration cadre through the 29th BCS exam.
Although official documents show they secured their jobs under the freedom fighter quota, an inquiry by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) revealed that none of them had applied as quota candidates during the examination. Following the investigation, the ACC filed three separate cases against them. The Ministry of Public Administration took this step amid growing controversy surrounding the certificates and quota eligibility submitted during their civil service recruitment. This decision reflects the ministry’s intent to maintain administrative integrity and address fraudulent appointments within the civil service framework.
Sources at the Ministry of Public Administration revealed that the initial gazette for recruitment through the 29th BCS was published on July 10, 2011, listing 184 candidates in the administration cadre. At that time, 14 posts remained vacant due to a lack of eligible candidates under the freedom fighter quota. Thirteen months after the publication of the first gazette, the ministry released a second gazette featuring the names of these three officers alongside several others to fill the vacant administrative positions.
On April 4, the Cabinet Division sent a letter to the Ministry of Public Administration stating that the ACC had filed six separate cases against six officers for obtaining appointments in various cadres of the 29th BCS through fraud and forgery without applying under the freedom fighter quota. The letter requested the ministry to take necessary action against the accused officers. Six months after receiving the instruction, action was taken against three administrative cadre officers, while the remaining three officers belong to the police, health, and education cadres.
