3 upazila parishad employees suspended over Tk 51 lakh embezzlement

Three employees of Fulganzi Upazila Parishad in Feni have been temporarily suspended over the embezzlement of around Tk 51 lakh by forging 26 government cheques from the upazila's revenue fund.

The suspension order was issued on Monday night, July 13, in accordance with government service rules, Upazila Executive Officer (additional charge) Atonu Barua confirmed.

The suspended employees are former stenographer-cum-computer operator Partha Sarathi Pal, current office assistant Md Firoz and Nur Islam. Under government service rules, any government employee arrested in a criminal case and sent to jail is subject to temporary suspension from the date of arrest. During suspension, they will receive subsistence allowance and other benefits as per rules.

The three were arrested on July 7 on charges of altering the amounts and spellings of 26 government cheques from the development and revenue sectors. A case was filed at Fulganzi Police Station by upazila parishad stenographer-cum-computer operator Abdul Halim Chowdhury.

Police submitted a final report, stating the case was outside their jurisdiction. On July 12, the three accused were granted bail by the Fulganzi court, which observed that the offence fell under the Anti-Corruption Commission's purview, and sent the case docket to the ACC for further action.