The 15-day extension will be effective from December 3rd, said a government circular yesterday adding that the time has been extended taking into account the massive terms of reference (TOR) of the committee.

Earlier, the probe committee headed by Agriculture Secretary Abdul Aziz, sought two weeks to the caretaker government to probe the matters as per the TOR of the circular issued by the establishment ministry on November 27.

The council of advisers in a meeting with President and Chief Adviser Iajuddin Ahmed decided to probe only the Uttara incident, but the establishment ministry issued a circular detailing the TOR, which involves investigation into other previous incidents since 1996.

The advisers later denied their knowledge about the change of the decision.

Some political parties have alleged that in order to divert the attention from the more serious Uttara incident, the establishment ministry in connivance with BNP has included other incidents.

About 40 former and in-service government high officials, 15 among whom have been learnt to be holding posts of assistant secretaries to joint secretaries in the current civil administration and who are known to be close to BNP, joined former energy adviser Mahmudur Rahman's secret 'party' in his business office at Sector 1 of Uttara in the capital on November 24.

The incident created strong commotion across the country as it ended up on the front page of many newspapers with photographs of the bureaucrats leaving the spot hiding their faces.