Female engineer assaulted at Chattogram Bidyut Bhaban, 4 workers transferred

A group of Collective Bargaining Agent (CBA) leaders and workers allegedly barged into the office of a female executive engineer at the Bangladesh Power Development Board (PDB) in Chattogram, creating a ruckus and assaulting her over an outsourcing recruitment dispute.

An assistant engineer who rushed to protect her was dragged out of the room into the corridor and physically assaulted. The incident occurred on Tuesday afternoon on the fifth floor of Bidyut Bhaban in the city’s Agrabad area, coming to light after CCTV footage of the altercation went viral on social media on Wednesday.

Following the incident, authorities swiftly transferred four workers involved in the disciplinary breach from Chattogram to four remote districts across the country. The transferred workers are Plant Operator-C Mohammad Hafizur Rahman (sent to Pabna), Lineman Mohammad Nurunnabi (Bhola), Electrician Mohammad Shafiqul Islam (Sylhet), and Driver Mohammad Ayub (Dinajpur).

PDB officials identified the victimized female officer as Nilufarin Aktar, a System Analyst (Executive Engineer) at the Computer Center of PDB’s Chattogram office. The assistant engineer who was beaten up was identified as Mehedi Hasan.

Describing the ordeal, Executive Engineer Nilufarin Aktar said that a worker had recently been hired through outsourcing on a "no work, no pay" basis, a decision the CBA leaders had been opposing. On Tuesday afternoon, a group of 20 to 30 people led by retired worker Gazi Ayub entered her room and immediately began shouting. Despite her repeated attempts to calm them down, they became highly abusive.

Hearing the commotion, colleagues from neighboring rooms rushed to the scene. When Assistant Engineer Mehedi Hasan tried to pacify the CBA leaders, they turned on him, dragging him out into the corridor and physically assaulting him. Following the incident, Nilufarin submitted a written complaint to Kamal Uddin Ahmed, the Chief Engineer of PDB’s Chattogram zone.

The CCTV footage showed a large, agitated group of workers and CBA leaders gathering in the fifth-floor corridor of Bidyut Bhaban, which escalated into pushing, shoving, and a physical altercation with the officers.

While admitting their opposition to the recruitment decision, CBA leaders denied the allegations of physical assault. Nazrul Islam, Central Joint General Secretary of the CBA, claimed they were merely protesting the hiring of an individual associated with the previous Awami League regime, adding that four of their men have now been transferred to different locations as a result.

Kamal Uddin Ahmed, Chief Engineer of PDB’s Distribution Southern Zone, stated that one side claimed they went there to present their demands while the other side alleged they were attacked. He added that the complaints from both sides have been forwarded to the inquiry and discipline department for a thorough investigation.