The Anti-Corruption Commission conducted a raid at the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority’s Ikuria office in keraniganj on Tuesday following allegations of harassment, bribery and irregularities in the issuance of driving licences, vehicle registrations, route permits and fitness certificates.

An ACC team led by assistant director Mahmudul Hasan spent about an hour posing as service seekers and observed activities at the office, ACC officials said.

During the raid, the team identified an Ansar security member who allegedly offered to arrange a driving licence for Tk 15,000 and suggested the payment could be made through mobile financial service bKash, said ACC assistant director Tapas Bhattacharya.

The security member was taken to the office of the BRTA deputy director for questioning, but he could not provide a satisfactory explanation, Tapas said.

The ACC subsequently checked his mobile phone and bKash transactions and initially found indications that he had attempted to collect money through deception, he said.

The commission recommended departmental action against him.

The ACC said it had received a number of complaints over driving licence services at the Ikuria office.

Applicants alleged that they were harassed at different stages, including application processing, document verification and written, oral and practical tests.

The commission is also examining allegations of irregularities in vehicle registration, including delays, demands for additional documents and requests for extra payments to expedite services.

Similar allegations have been made over route permits, with applicants claiming files are deliberately held up and additional payments sought for faster approval.

The ACC is also looking into allegations that vehicles that do not meet fitness requirements may have been issued fitness certificates without proper inspections in exchange for money.

Assistant director for public relations Tanzir Ahmed said the raid was conducted to investigate allegations of harassment and bribery in BRTA services, as well as irregularities in driving licence examinations.

‘We have collected information during the raid. It will be scrutinised and a report will be submitted to the commission,’ he said.