Power is the modern version of Aladdin's lamp of the Arabic rosin, the lamp that can be lit without the help of a demon to become the owner of great wealth. And the strategy to own this wealth is called corruption.
That is, power, corruption and wealth are now complementary to each other.
When Aladdin in the story rubbed his leg, the giant would come and say to him, 'Order, master. '
But in reality Aladdin's monster looks different. This monster appears sometimes in the form of administrative power, sometimes the fear of arms, sometimes the fear of prosecution or crossfire, and sometimes the temptation to obtain some great advantage.
The last one who is making a fuss all over the country about 'Aladdin's lamp' is Benazir Ahmed, former police chief and former director general of RAB. who has also received the Rashtriya Shuddhachar Award.
It would not be wrong to call him the 'most influential police officer' in the history of Bangladesh from the appearance of this police officer who was discussed in various incidents including the removal of Hefazet Islam leaders and activists from Shapla Chattar in Motijheel in 2013. The question is, Kal Kantha, in a long investigative report titled 'Aladdin's lamp in Benazir's house' on March 31, which opened the Pandora's box of such a powerful and powerful person, what is the message?
Two questions are swirling in people's minds.
1. Bangladesh has an 'independent' anti-corruption commission and they have caught many big and medium corrupt people under the law. Many have been investigated. Many are under investigation. An influential person like Benazir Ahmed, who served as the head of the state's largest law and order force during many major incidents, did the ACC not inquire about his assets?
2. His wealth, which has been detailed in the report, is in the sum of Rs. For example, Savannah Eco Resort in Gopalganj is a luxury resort; Investments of more than 500 crore rupees in at least six companies in different areas of the country in the name of wife and two daughters; Expensive flats, houses in elite areas of the capital and bigha after bigha of land in expensive areas near Dhaka; Two lakh shares in Best Holdings and five-star hotel La Meridien in the name of two daughters; In Purbachal, a duplex house on a vast area of 40 kathas and another 10 bighas of land worth 22 crore rupees etc. The question is, in what process did Benazir Ahmed acquire this wealth?
The question is because it is impossible to buy a small house in Dhaka city with the salary, bonus and other financial benefits he got throughout his life as a government employee and the money he got after retirement. However, the details of his assets that are available in the news published in the media, are hundreds or thousands of times more than his lifetime income.
Where did he get this money or in what process did he get it?
There are three ways to get rich in fat spots.
1. Vast wealth inherited from parents.
2. big business
3. Corruption.
In the reality of Bangladesh, no matter how big and how high paying the government job is, it is difficult for anyone to own a flat in Dhaka city for two to three crore rupees, unless there is a hefty bank loan. A government employee has no chance to save much money after living on salary alone. However, many third and fourth class employees have become owners of multiple luxury flats in Dhaka city, cars, resorts near Dhaka, picturesque buildings in village houses, bigha after bigha of crop land - many such news have made media headlines. Many have been arrested. is in prison Many others have also disappeared from the news pages. Apart from this, many more people are still becoming the owners of huge wealth and prosperity by abusing and corrupting the power of Aladdin.
So this incident of Benazir Ahmed cannot be considered as a very new or an isolated incident. This is just a small case study of a corrupt economy. However, its fundamental difference with the other 10 incidents is that Benazir Ahmed is an influential person and in today's journalism where corruption and crimes of people associated with power are tried to be avoided as much as possible, the Pandora's box that the voice of the time opened or could give is undoubtedly admirable. .
For those who are upset that there is no journalism in the country or investigative journalism, this kind of report gives hope. In this age of social media, when there are door-to-door journalists, when YouTube content creators claim to be journalists, and when mainstream media seems to be losing ground to social media, this type of journalism is not just about one or two newspapers or television channels, but about the entire media. Somewhat hurt existing negative perceptions. The stakes in this type of journalism are high. But it needs more.
The weak point of the report is that there is no statement of the accused. However, according to this report, several calls were made to Benazir Ahmed's mobile phone to inquire about the complaint, but he did not receive it. Khude did not even respond to messages. Two things usually happen in these cases. 1. The accused person does not answer the call of the journalist or 2. In some news reports, when questioned about the allegations, he denies them or the accused claims that the allegations leveled against him are false and false. Therefore, even if this type of disparaging speech is ultimately not very effective, the ethics and structure of journalism require the statement of the accused.
Reports of such corruption bring two issues to the fore.
1. Where is the implementation of the government's zero tolerance policy against corruption? Can the government name even a single state service institution, including the police force, that has been completely free of corruption or where corruption has been reduced? Even after making the activities of many government service organizations internet-based and digital, has corruption decreased in all those organizations?
2. When a crime is alleged or proven against a member of any force, the force immediately says that neither the force nor the government will be held responsible for the person's crime. The question is, if there is a structural problem in any force or institution; If the system there is such that one can get away with huge wealth by intimidating or speeding up the administrative power or giving illegal favors to someone and get away with it easily, then why is the responsibility of the crime of any person associated with that force or organization Institutions and governments will not take?
Author: Journalist and Writer (Current Affairs Editor and Presenter, Nexus Television)
English 
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