Dhaka, April 15 -- The Roads and Highways Department (RHD) has appointed a senior engineer as a project director on a new venture despite an ongoing investigation against him into allegations of releasing payments before completion of work.

The appointment comes after a departmental probe found initial evidence of "negligence of duty", leading to a case over an offence punishable with a major penalty, while the matter remains unresolved.

The official, Md Shawkat Ali, serves as an additional chief engineer of RHD in the Mymensingh Road Zone.

He has been made project director for the "Sylhet-Tamabil Highway Four-Lane Upgrade with Separate SMVT Lane" project.

Earlier, during his tenure as additional chief engineer in the Cumilla Road Zon...