Ex-minister Menon shown arrested in teacher recruitment graft case

A Dhaka court on Wednesday showed former minister Rashed Khan Menon arrested in a corruption case over alleged irregularities in the recruitment of teachers at Willes Little Flower School and College in the capital.

Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Md Shahjahan Kabir passed the order following a petition filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), said ACC prosecutor Delwar Jahan Rumi.

The investigation officer in the case, ACC Assistant Director Md Ferdous Rahman, filed the petition on 30 June seeking to show Menon arrested in the case. The court had fixed 8 July for the hearing in the presence of the accused.

Other accused in the case include the institution's former principal and former member secretary of its governing body, retired Lieutenant Colonel Alamgir Hossain, along with several former governing body members, teachers and officials.

Earlier, the ACC filed the case on 22 December last year against Menon and 19 others over allegations of appointing 13 pre-selected candidates as teachers through irregularities and fraud.

The case alleged that the special governing body formed a recruitment board despite lacking the authority to appoint teachers under the relevant rules.

The board did not include the Director General of the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education or a representative, nor did it include subject experts.

Candidates were allowed to participate without the required NTRCA certificate mentioned in the recruitment notice.

The candidate who secured the highest marks in the written examination was allegedly barred from appearing in the viva voce, while appointment and joining letters were issued even before the recruitment process had been completed.

Menon was arrested on 22 August 2024 and has been in jail since then. He is also facing trial before the International Crimes Tribunal in a crimes against humanity case.