Bakery fined for stale sweets, not for addressing UNO as ‘apa’

Osmaninagar Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Munmun Nahar Asha has dismissed claims circulating on social media that a mobile court fined a shop for addressing her as “apa”, saying the narrative is “completely false and misleading” and that the penalty was imposed solely for selling stale sweets.

At a press briefing held at the Upazila Parishad conference room on Thursday (June 4), the UNO said the mobile court fined Bonoful & Company’s Tajpur branch Tk 50,000 following repeated allegations of food safety violations, including the sale of expired or stale sweets.

She said she had previously visited the shop in disguise as a customer, during which she found discrepancies regarding product freshness and inconsistencies in information provided by staff about production times. Initially, employees were reluctant to produce valid invoices, though documents were later shown during the mobile court operation.

During the inspection, one staff member reportedly admitted to mixing stale sweets with fresh products, she added.

Addressing the “apa” controversy, the UNO said a staff member had later approached her and used the term “apa” while apologising, but clarified that the remark had no connection with the fine.

“Calling someone ‘apa’ is not an offence under the law. No one can be penalised for it,” she said, adding that fines are imposed on institutions based on violations of regulations, not on personal expressions.

She further said all mobile court actions were taken against the company, not any individual, and the fine was duly deposited into the government treasury.

Bonoful branch manager Suhel Barua also confirmed that the penalty was imposed due to food quality violations and rejected claims linking it to the “apa” remark as misinformation.

The issue gained widespread attention on social media after reports surfaced claiming the shop was fined for addressing the UNO as “apa”, prompting authorities to issue clarifications.