5 govt officials assaulted in Tangail in a week
Four engineers of Power Development Board (PDB) and an upazila education officer were physically assaulted in the district recently, giving rise to panic and resentment among the government officials and employees of different departments.
Several men belonging to the ruling Awami League (AL) physically assaulted Tangail Sadar Upazila Education Officer Noor Alam Mridha at his office in upazila parishad on July 17 after he refused to transfer a female teacher of a primary school.
A day after, the officer filed a case with Tangail Model Police Station against Faruque Hasan Sony and Pahari Titu, executive members of Tangail city unit of AL, and five to six unnamed others in this regard.
Demanding arrest of the culprits, the primary school teachers of the district decided to wear black badges and observe two hours work abstention from Tuesday.
On July 13, some youths assaulted Assistant Engineer Zahangir Alam Jewel and Sub-assistant Engineer Gulzar Hossain of PDB when the two officials were performing their duty at Deola in the town.
The same day, Jewel filed a case with Tangail Model Police Station and
a day after, police arrested Palash Talukder Babu and his brother Shimul Talukder Kutu of Deola area in connection with the attack on the PDB engineers.
"The two arrestees have been sent to jail through a court. We are trying to arrest the accused in the case for assaulting the education officer," Nazrul Islam, officer-in-charge of Tangail Model Police Station, said on Tuesday.
Superintending Engineer Mohammad Solaiman and Executive Engineer (Sales and Distribution) Zafar Ahmed in Tangail PDB were assaulted allegedly by a few councillors of Tangail municipality at the PDB office on Mymensingh Road in Tangail town on July 10.
The PDB engineers faced the wrath of the councillors after they refused to meet several illogical demands including replacement of some electric polls for road extension work in Biswas Betka area without following the departmental procedure.
A day after the incident, Zafar Ahmed filed a case with Tangail Model Police Station while 240 PDB officials and employees in the district decided to go on leave en masse demanding punishment of the attackers on the two senior engineers.
The municipality authorities, on the other hand, alleged that the engineers assaulted a female councillor of the municipality at PDB office on that day. They also alleged bribery and corruption against the PDB officials and announced a demonstration in front of the municipality building.
Representatives of the municipality and PDB authorities, however, sat in a meeting at the deputy commissioner's office on July 11 and reached a 'mutual understanding' about the incident.
Tangail Deputy Commissioner (DC) M Bazlul Karim Chowdhury, Superintendent of Police Hafiz Akter, district AL General Secretary Fazlur Rahman Khan Faruque, Chief Engineer of Tangail PDB Mohammad Hasanuzzaman, Superintending Engineer Mohammad Solaiman, Executive Engineer (Distribution) Faruque Ahmed and municipality Mayor Shahidur Rahman Khan Mukti attended the meeting.
However, assaulted Executive Engineer Zafar Ahmed did not come to the meeting.
On Tuesday, residents of Deola area in the town brought out a procession and submitted memorandum to the deputy commissioner's and PDB offices demanding smooth power supply and steps against corrupt PDB officials and employees.
When contacted, DC M Bazlul Karim Chowdhury told this correspondent on Tuesday, "Legal steps have already been taken against the people involved in the incidents of assaulting PDB engineers and Sadar upazila education officer. Stern action will be taken if there is any further attempt to create obstacle to performing duties by government officials'.”
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