Health officer on the run in fear of Jubo Dal leader
Photo: Agamir Somoy
A Jubo Dal leader in Sujanagar of Pabna had demanded answers from a health officer after failing to secure a tender. At one point, the Upazila Health and Family Planning Officer, Dr. Suprabha Rani, was allegedly confined in her office for more than two and a half hours, with accusations raised of irregularities in the tender-invitation process. There are even allegations that, as they were leaving, she was threatened with "being dealt with wherever they find her" if a new tender was not issued. After the incident at noon last Tuesday at the Upazila Health Complex office, Dr. Suprabha Rani has been in hiding for two days out of fear of them. The victimized officer said that on September 10, under the e-GP process, tenders were invited for six packages under the MSR head of the Upazila Health Complex, worth Tk 80 lakh and 76 thousand. After online evaluation in line with the advice of senior officials and the e-GP policy, four firms were awarded the work on November 2. But some local leaders, claiming the conditions had been made too stringent, began pressing for cancellation of the tenders.
Dr. Suprabha said, "While I was busy in a meeting in the hospital conference room on Tuesday, suddenly a group of 8 to 10 people, led by Upazila Jubo Dal convener Siddiqur Rahman Pintu, swooped in. They cut off the power supply to my office room and turned the CCTV cameras around. Then they went inside, bolted the door, and began pressuring me to cancel the tender."
"I was being pressured to re-tender in violation of the rules. When I did not agree, they intimidated me in various ways and threatened to 'see me' outside the office. I am in extreme insecurity and under threat to my life. I have already informed the local administration and senior officials about the matter," she added.
Speaking on condition of anonymity out of fear, several office assistants and employees of the hospital said the health officer was confined for more than two and a half hours straight and pressured to cancel the tender.
The hospital's Resident Medical Officer (RMO), Wasim Khan, said, "Those who did not get the tender were questioning madam on various matters and shouting and screaming. I came to madam's room and saw the CCTV camera turned around. When the police station was informed, the police came. If there had been any irregularity, it could have been reported to the relevant authorities; but shouting and screaming in a hospital like this is in no way expected."
Jubo Dal leader Siddiqur admitted he went to the health officer's room to talk about the tender, but denied the allegations of threatening and confining her. He said, "There were massive irregularities in the tender process, and I went there just to talk about that. No one was confined or threatened with death."
Sujanagar Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Mozaffar Hossain said, "On the day of the incident, I was called by phone from the hospital. I went there and saw several people. However, he did not tell me of any allegation that the health officer had been confined. If a complaint is received, legal action will be taken."
Pabna Civil Surgeon Abul Kalam Azad said, "The tender process in Sujanagar was completed following the rules. Recently, if someone did not get a tender, this kind of harassment or abusive behavior would occur in almost every office. I myself had been a victim of such harassment before. These are in no way acceptable. Institutional action will be taken quickly in this regard."
