Ex-Railway DG, 6 others sued over Tk 598cr DEMU train loss

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has filed a case against seven former government officials, including former Bangladesh Railway Director General Md. Tohidul Anwar Chowdhury, over alleged state losses of nearly Tk 598 crore caused by the procurement of ineffective DEMU trains.

The case was lodged on Tuesday by ACC Assistant Director Raju Ahmed at the commission’s Integrated District Office in Dhaka, a senior ACC official confirmed on Wednesday.

According to the case statement, the accused colluded in fraud and forgery while in office. The project was approved without a proper feasibility study or viability assessment, resulting in trains that were incompatible with Bangladesh Railway’s infrastructure and technology. This led to misuse of state funds for personal and vested interests.

The ACC investigation determined that the mismanagement caused a financial loss of Tk 598.84 crore to the government.

The case has been filed under sections 409, 420, 467, 468, 471, 109 of the Penal Code and section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947.

HKJ