An investigation into internal corruption within the state-run food distribution network has resulted in criminal charges against four officials in northern Bangladesh. The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has filed a lawsuit against senior personnel at the Kurigram Sadar food grain warehouse following the alleged embezzlement of government food stocks valued at more than BDT 20.1 million. Investigators also uncovered an unrecorded stockpile of 119 tonnes of rice worth nearly BDT 6.94 million during an unexpected inspection of the facility.
ACC Public Relations Officer Aktarul Islam disclosed details of the case on Tuesday, 27 October. The accused individuals include the officer-in-charge of the Kurigram Sadar warehouse, Md Sharif Ahmed, assistant sub-food inspector Md Helal Uddin, Sadar Upazila food controller Md Halimur Rahman, and acting district food controller Mohammad Hamidul Haq. According to the charge sheet, the defendants colluded to manipulate official inventory ledgers and procurement records to misappropriate government grain totaling BDT 20,175,352.
The allegations stem from an enforcement drive conducted on 11 January by a team from the ACC’s Kurigram Integrated District Office. During physical inspections of the warehouse’s Shishu Niketan and Khalilganj storage blocks, officials discovered stark discrepancies between documented stocks and actual physical inventory. A detailed count across various stacks revealed a shortfall of 1,176 sacks of rice—equivalent to 42.205 tonnes—valued at upwards of BDT 2.46 million.
Further irregularities emerged regarding the procurement logs for the 2025–26 fiscal year, which listed 711 tonnes of paddy. Valid records accounted for the payment of only 240 tonnes, of which 190 tonnes remained in physical storage. Sharif Ahmed claimed that the remaining 50 tonnes had been dispatched for milling to M/S Elahi Auto Rice Mill. However, an on-site visit by the investigation committee disproved this assertion. The mill owner, Md Mukul Sarkar, confirmed that no such consignment had arrived at his facility. Discrepancies in the dates recorded on the dispatch clearance forms further undermined the official narrative. The missing 50 tonnes of paddy carries an estimated market value of BDT 1.7 million.
The investigative team found no credible documentation or physical evidence to verify the existence or procurement of the remaining 471 tonnes of paddy listed in the ledgers. Evaluated at BDT 34,000 per tonne, this unaccounted portion represents a loss of BDT 16,014,000.
In addition to the missing stocks, investigators discovered an unauthorized stack of 119 tonnes of rice near the western gate of Warehouse FS-3 in the Shishu Niketan block. Sharif Ahmed failed to produce any mandatory documentation for the stock, such as procurement registers, weight and quality certificates, delivery challans, or ledger entries. Consequently, officers seized the unrecorded consignment, valued at BDT 6,939,959 based on a rate of BDT 58,318.98 per tonne, under an official seizure list on 12 January.
The ACC has registered charges against all four officials under Sections 420, 409, and 109 of the Penal Code, alongside Section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947. Sharif Ahmed faces additional charges under Section 120(B) of the Penal Code for his role in maintaining the unrecorded rice stock. Enforcement authorities confirmed that the investigation remains ongoing, with scope to name additional suspects should further evidence of complicity emerge.
Grain security programs in Bangladesh rely heavily on accurate regional storage metrics to manage domestic buffer stocks and support social safety net initiatives. Systematic record tampering at regional depots undermines these essential distribution networks, making rigorous enforcement critical to preventing leakage within state supply chains.
