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A Dhaka court on Wednesday placed six people on seven-day remand in a case filed over allegations of forging the names, identities, seals, signatures and official letterheads of the prime minister, ministers and other senior government officials.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Mohammad Ehsanul Islam passed the order after police sought the remand of the accused for the sake of a proper investigation.
The six accused are Faruk Hossain, Sakib Khan, Masum Munsi, Mir Touhidul Islam, Bakul Mondal and Rafiqul Islam.
According to court sources, DB Cyber and Special Crime Division Sub-Inspector Md Shamim Sardar, the investigation officer in the case, had sought seven days’ remand for each accused on August 7.
The court had fixed Wednesday for hearing the remand plea in their presence.
The accused were produced before the court from jail. Their lawyers sought cancellation of the remand and bail, while the prosecution argued in favour of police custody. After hearing both sides, the court granted seven days’ remand for each of the six accused.
According to the case statement, an envelope bearing the name and address of the Prime Minister’s Office was sent to the secretary of the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment.
The envelope contained seven pages of documents carrying purported signatures of the prime minister, ministers, a foreign affairs adviser, the principal secretary, the cabinet secretary and other senior officials.
After questions were raised about the authenticity of the documents, the matter was sent to the DMP’s DB Cyber and Special Crime Division for investigation.
Police said their investigation uncovered an alleged organised group that had been using the names, identities, seals, signatures and official letterheads of senior government officials to prepare forged documents and defraud individuals and organisations.
With the help of information technology, investigators identified members of the alleged group.
Five of the accused—Faruk Hossain, Sakib Khan, Masum Munsi, Mir Touhidul Islam and Bakul Mondal—were subsequently arrested in separate operations in Madaripur’s Kalkini and Kushtia.
DB Sub-Inspector Raihanur Rahman filed the case with Ramna Police Station on August 5. The same day, the arrested suspects were produced before the court and sent to jail.
Rafiqul Islam was arrested the following day from the Fakirapul area of Motijheel in Dhaka.
Police said they seized letterhead pads bearing the purported seals and signatures of the Prime Minister’s Office, several ministries and ministers and lawmakers from the accused.
Investigators suspect the group was planning large-scale fraud by using forged documents and the identities of government offices and officials.
During the remand, police will question the accused to determine who else was involved and what the intended purpose of the forged documents was.