Allegations have been raised against Md. Mashuk Billah Aref Khan, Comptroller (Revenue) at the Office of the Comptroller (Revenue), over assigning audits of various districts to preferred officials, distributing responsibilities without approval from the ministry, and repeatedly assigning the same official to audit multiple districts.
He has also been accused of assigning officials to audit the offices of district commissioners beyond their designated responsibilities, making transfers in violation of rules, and attempting to obtain financial benefits by intimidating officials.
Taking the allegations into consideration, the Ministry of Land formed a three-member investigation committee on September 7. Akhtar Hossain, a joint secretary of the ministry, has been appointed as the convener of the committee. The committee has been instructed to submit its report within seven days. The ministry has also sought relevant documents from the concerned office.
These allegations and details emerged from a review of written complaints submitted to the ministry and relevant official documents.
A.S.M. Saleh Ahmed, Senior Secretary of the Ministry of Land, said, “The allegations have been taken into consideration. An investigation committee headed by a joint secretary has been formed. It has been asked to submit its report within a week. Appropriate action will be taken in accordance with the law after the report is received. It would not be appropriate to make any comment before that.”
According to the allegations and relevant documents, the responsibility for auditing the offices of district commissioners is supposed to be carried out by Supervising (Revenue) officials. However, officials holding the rank of Assistant Comptroller (Revenue), who are one grade higher, were assigned to conduct such audits instead.
Under the rules, approval—either verbal or written—from the concerned ministry is required before a first-class officer can be assigned duties outside his or her designated responsibilities. The allegations state that no such approval was obtained from the Ministry of Land in these cases.
Documents show that on May 5, Assistant Comptroller (Revenue) of the Dhaka Division Abul Kashem was assigned to conduct an audit. He had previously also been assigned audit responsibilities at the Department of Land Records and Surveys.
Similarly, Mohammad Anisur Rahman, Assistant Comptroller (Revenue) of the Mymensingh Division, was assigned to audit the Mymensingh Deputy Commissioner’s Office in June. He was subsequently given responsibility for auditing the office of the Deputy Commissioner of Narayanganj as well. The repeated assignment of the same official to audits in multiple districts has raised questions about the distribution of audit responsibilities.
There are also allegations that Didarul Alam Patwari, Assistant Comptroller (Revenue) of the Chattogram Division, was assigned to audit the three hill districts instead of officials from the Chattogram North or Chattogram South regions.
Mashuk Billah has also been accused of transferring second-class Supervising (Revenue) officials in violation of established rules. According to sources familiar with the matter, attempts were allegedly made to obtain financial benefits from some officials through intimidation. Officials who refused to follow certain instructions were reportedly threatened with transfers to other districts and the filing of cases against them.
A member of the investigation committee said the allegations would be examined thoroughly. The committee will review the tour schedules of officials assigned to audits, TA/DA bills, vouchers, approval documents, audit reports, orders assigning responsibilities and relevant financial records.
The committee will also examine cases in which the same official was repeatedly assigned audits in different districts. In such cases, the official’s travel expenses, duration of tours, audit findings and the decisions behind the distribution of responsibilities will be scrutinised.
Md. Mashuk Billah Aref Khan is scheduled to appear before the investigation committee for a hearing on Sunday, September 13.
When contacted for his response to the allegations, Mashuk Billah Aref Khan claimed that he had carried out his duties in accordance with the rules and practices followed previously. He said he had worked at the field level before taking up his current position and had been serving in the post for around one and a half years.
He also said that if any mistakes had been made, they might have resulted from his lack of knowledge or understanding of the relevant matters.