The Anti-Corruption Commission yesterday pressed charges against Partha Gopal Banik, suspended deputy inspector general (prisons) of Sylhet division, in a case filed over the recovery of Tk 80 lakh from his Dhaka house.

ACC Deputy Director Md Salauddin, also the investigation officer of the case, submitted the charge sheet to the Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court.

Fourteen people have been made prosecution witnesses in the charge sheet where the IO said the allegations against Partha of illegally acquiring wealth and money laundering were primarily proved and he should be brought under trial.

Judge KM Emrul Kayesh fixed August 31 as the date to decide whether to accept the charge sheet or not.

On July 29 last year, ACC Director Mohammad Yousuf quizzed Partha over allegations that he committed irregularities and corruption as DIG (prisons) of Chattogram division. The interrogation continued at the ACC headquarters for about four hours.

After the interrogation, an ACC team with Partha went to his Green Road house in the capital and recovered the money.

They later detained him and showed him arrested after the case was filed against him on the same day.

The following day, Partha was sent to jail after he was produced before a Dhaka court.

On October 26, 2018, Government Railway Police personnel arrested a jailer of Chattogram Central Jail, Sohel Rana Biswas, and recovered Tk 44 lakh, documents showing fixed deposit accounts worth Tk 2.5 crore, and cheques of Tk 1.3 crore issued in favour of him, and 12 bottles of Phensedyl from his possession.

Sohel was going to his hometown in Mymensingh by train from Chattogram.

Two cases were filed over the incident -- one for money laundering and the other for carrying drugs.

At that time, Partha was the DIG (prisons) of Chattogram division, and Prasanta Gopal Banik was the senior jail super of Chattogram Central Jail.

An investigation launched by the prison authorities found that a section of Chattogram prison officials were involved in the incident. As per recommendations of the committee, several prison guards and senior officials were transferred.