Female Engineer’s Office Raided by CBA Leaders
Photo: Agamir Somoy
Allegations have emerged that CBA leaders and activists stormed the office of a female engineer and created chaos over the recruitment of workers through outsourcing. During the incident, when an assistant engineer stepped in to protect the female official, he was allegedly dragged out of the room and physically assaulted.
The incident took place on Tuesday afternoon on the fifth floor of the Power Development Board (PDB) building in Agrabad, Chattogram. The matter came to light on Wednesday after CCTV footage of the incident circulated on social media.
In response, authorities immediately transferred four workers accused of violating discipline from Chattogram to four remote districts of the country. The transferred workers are Plant Operator-C Mohammad Hafizur Rahman (to Pabna), Lineman Mohammad Nurunnabi (to Bhola), Electrician Mohammad Shafiqul Islam (to Sylhet), and Driver Mohammad Aiyub (to Dinajpur).
PDB officials said the official subjected to the misconduct by CBA leaders is Nilufarin Akhter. She works as a systems analyst (executive engineer) at the Computer Centre of the PDB Chattogram office. Assistant Engineer Mehedi Hasan was reportedly assaulted during the incident.
Describing the incident, Executive Engineer Nilufarin Akhter said, “Recently, a worker was recruited through outsourcing on a no work, no pay basis. CBA leaders had been protesting the appointment. On Tuesday afternoon, 20 to 30 people entered my office to question why the worker was recruited without consulting them. Led by retired worker Gazi Aiyub, the CBA leaders entered the room and began shouting. I tried repeatedly to calm them down but failed. At one point, they began behaving in a highly disrespectful manner.”
She further said that officials and employees from nearby rooms rushed in after hearing the commotion. At that time, Assistant Engineer Mehedi Hasan attempted to calm the CBA leaders, but they instead became more aggressive. The activists dragged Mehedi out into the corridor and allegedly assaulted him there. She later submitted a written complaint to Kamal Uddin Ahmed, Chief Engineer of the PDB Chattogram zone.
CCTV footage of the incident shows a large group of agitated workers and CBA leaders gathered in the corridor of the fifth floor of the Power Development Board building, creating chaos. The footage also shows direct pushing and scuffling with officials present there, spreading panic among employees in the area.
CBA leaders admitted to opposing the recruitment decision but denied allegations of assault. Central Joint General Secretary of the CBA, Nazrul Islam, said, “There was a minor issue with madam over recruitment. We protested because they appointed people from the previous political regime (Awami League). Now four of us have been transferred to different locations.”
When contacted, Kamal Uddin Ahmed, Chief Engineer of the Bangladesh Power Development Board Distribution South Zone, said, “One side says they went there with demands and were mistreated. The other side says they were attacked. We have sent the complaints from both sides to the investigation and discipline department. They will investigate and take necessary action.”
