For the last two months, two student coordinators from Barishal were pressing the Nalchity Upazila Engineer in Jhalakathi to collect the final bill of Tk3 crore for a road construction project implemented by pro-Awami League contractor Shaon Khan.
He was also the computer operator of Amar Hossain Amu, the former MP from the Jhalakathi-2 constituency and a member of the Awami League Advisory Council, who is now in jail. Shaon is also hiding.
Since the upazila engineer, Iqbal Kabir, refused to release the funds at the behest of the students, they offered him bribes. After being rejected, the duo started claiming that Iqbal Kabir was a corrupt official.
Accused Sirajul Islam is the son of Nurul Bashar, a fruit trader from Dogalchira village in Nabagram Union of Jhalakathi Sadar, and Mehedi is the son of Kalam, a grocery shopkeeper at Kakli intersection in Barishal city.
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Of them, Sirajul, 24, is the member secretary of the Barishal University unit of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement (ADSM), and Mehedi, 25, is a student of Barishal Global University.
On Thursday (July 31), they again went to the Jhalakathi LGED Executive Engineer around 2pm and questioned him for not releasing the bill. They also raised complaints of irregularities against the upazila engineer.
At that time, when tension arose there, the BNP-backed contractors present at the office handed Sirajul and Mehedi over to the police.
In the evening, Jhalakathi District BNP Convening Committee Member Mizanur Rahman Mubin, Barishal District National Citizen Party (NCP) Joint General Secretary Saiful Islam, NCPโs Barishal Metropolitan Committee Organiser Tushar Khan, and leaders of various political parties in Jhalakathi came to the Sadar police station.
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The duo admitted to everyone that it was not right to go to the LGED office. Several members of the NCP, ADSM, BNP, and Jubo Dal signed an undertaking in the OC’s room stating that there was a misunderstanding between them.
Later, in a joint statement to reporters in front of the police station, they said that there was a misunderstanding with them, which was resolved in front of senior leaders.
Finally, Sirajul and Mehedi were released from Sadar police station at 9:10pm since the LGED authorities did not file any written complaint against them.
Upazila Engineer Iqbal Kabir said that the two coordinators came to collect the final bill on behalf of Shaon.
โSince the work was not completed and the bill was not prepared in the proper process, I asked them to bring the real contractor. Instead of doing so, they brought some guys and repeatedly applied pressure.
โI informed the senior officials, the Nalchity Upazila Executive Officer and journalists, the local Chhatra Dal, and student coordinators. At one stage, the coordinators offered me a bribe to release the bill. Since I did not agree, they started harassing me.โ
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