A case has been filed against 19 people, including former prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s son and her ICT adviser Sajeeb Wazed Joy, and former state minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak on allegations of leaking and selling citizens’ National ID (NID) information.
Besides, another 15 to 20 unnamed individuals were also made accused in the case.
Talebur Rahman, deputy commissioner (media) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, told The Daily Star that one Enamul Haque filed the case with Kafrul Police Station under the Cyber Security Act, bringing allegation of embezzlement of around Tk 20,000 crore through the sale of data.
According to the case, Joy and Palak abused their power by facilitating the sale of citizens’ NID information through an organised syndicate.
The accused allegedly allowed Digicon Global Services Limited to use NID data for business dealings with various organisations without ensuring national security and personal data protection. The data was sold to approximately 182 entities, both domestic and international, resulting in concerns over public security, according to the case statement.
The accused in the case include Tareque M Barkatullah, former director of the Data Center; Wahidur Rahman Sharif, director of Digicon Global Services; NM Ziaul Alam, former senior secretary of the Ministry of ICT; Mahbubur Rahman, former executive director (additional responsibility) of the Bangladesh Computer Council; Abdul Baten, former director (operations) of the National Identity Registration Wing at the Election Commission Secretariat; Ashraf Hossain, former senior maintenance engineer at the Election Commission Secretariat; Lt Col (retd) Rakibul Hasan from the National Telecommunication Monitoring Center (NTMC); Rezaul Islam, former deputy secretary of the Cabinet Division.
The other accused are Haider Ali, retired professor of the CSE department at Dhaka University; Muhammad Mahfuzul Islam, former vice chancellor of Canadian University of Bangladesh; Aliul Hasan, former system analyst of the Registrar General’s Office of Birth and Death Registration under the Local Government Division; Tabibur Rahman, former deputy secretary of the ICT Division; Sarwar Hossain, former assistant director (Legal and Verification) of the National Identity Registration Wing; Abdul Momin Sarkar, former director (registration and expatriates) of the National Identity Registration Wing; Mohammad Tajul Islam, former director (acting in charge of Budget, Accounts, and General Services) of the National Identity Registration Wing; Mahidur Rahman Khan, manager (Security Operations) of the Bangladesh Computer Council and Siddiqur Rahman, software developer at the Bangladesh Computer Council.
Source : The Daily Star
