Md. Nur Islam Nayan:
Various corruption allegations have been made against Dinajpur Sadar Upazila Rural Development Officer Md. Rajiur Rahman. It is alleged that he embezzled lakhs of taka by illegally selling goods stored in a godown under the control of the Bangladesh Rural Development Board (BRDB).
Md. Rajiur Rahman served in Dinajpur from September 18, 2011 to July 10, 2012. Later, he joined Dinajpur Sadar Upazila again on April 6, 2022 as a Rural Development Officer. His second term in office has been marred by allegations of corruption and abuse of power.
Shallow tubewells, rickshaws, bicycles, steel cupboards, file cabinets, tables and other assets stored in the godown of Dinajpur Sadar Upazila have been sold without the approval of the Asset Management Committee. Its estimated value is between Tk 2 lakh and Tk 2 lakh 50. Although Tk 3,000 was collected monthly for UCCA Ltd.’s godown rent, that money was embezzled without depositing it in the organization’s fund.
No initiative has been taken to recover the defaulted loan. There have also been allegations that UCCA Ltd.’s employees demanded a 50 percent bribe while withdrawing their salaries. There has been a long-standing dispute with the officials due to their bad behavior with the office staff and the UCCA Ltd. management committee.
In this regard, Upazila Executive Officer (UNO) Md. Faisal Raihan said that the complaint has been sent to the concerned department for investigation. Upazila Cooperative Society Ltd. President Md. Azizul Haque said that UCCA Ltd. is on the verge of collapse due to Md. Rajiur Rahman’s corruption.
It is impossible to save this institution without the intervention of higher authorities.
When journalists asked about the allegations, Md. Rajiur Rahman admitted to the misunderstanding of the staff. However, he denied the issue of embezzlement of money for selling goods and storing godowns. When requested to show the goods in the warehouse, he avoided the matter by saying that the staff in charge was on leave.
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