Caught taking Tk 300 bribe, EC official sacked

Shudhangshu Kumar Saha, Senior Assistant Secretary at the Election Commission (EC) Secretariat, has been dismissed from service for accepting a bribe of Tk 300 during a National ID (NID) correction and attempting to conceal the matter by offering a journalist Tk 29,000.

The decision, signed by EC Secretary Akhtar Ahmed on February 4, was issued under the President’s order and came into effect from February 5, according to EC sources.

The notification states that while serving as Additional Regional Election Officer in Comilla, Saha illegally received Tk 300 from a service recipient for NID correction.

Shudhangshu Kumar Saha, Senior Assistant Secretary at the Election Commission (EC) Secretariat, has been dismissed from service for accepting Tk 300 as a bribe during a National ID (NID) correction and attempting to cover up the incident by paying a journalist Tk 29,000 to prevent video evidence from being published.

The bribery was captured on video by media personnel present at the time. Following the preliminary verification of the misconduct, Saha was temporarily suspended.

A departmental case (No-04/2025) was filed against him under the Government Servants (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 2018 for ‘misconduct’. The investigation was conducted by Md. Faridul Islam, Additional Project Director of IDEA Phase-2. All allegations against the official were proven true during the investigation.

The report noted that although Saha attempted to defend himself, his explanations were unsatisfactory. Following advice from the Public Service Commission (PSC) and approval from the Honorable President, he was given the major penalty of dismissal under Rule 4(3)(gha) of the Government Servants (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 2018.

Until his dismissal, he was posted at the Regional Election Officer’s office in Rangpur. The order, issued in the public interest, has been in effect since February 3.