Contractor allegedly beaten by municipal official for refusing to pay bribe
ontractor, Hasibul Hasan Abdullah. Agamir Somoy.
A contractor in Nagarkanda of Faridpur has alleged that he was beaten by municipal administrative officer Humayun Kabir and one of his associates. The incident allegedly took place around 1pm on Wednesday in the office of the upazila administrative officer.
The contractor, Hasibul Hasan Abdullah, said his firm, Syeda Jahanara Enterprise, carried out RCC paving work on three roads under the IUIP project in 2023. Although the bill for the work was approved eight months ago, he said payment had been withheld.
According to Hasibul, administrative officer Humayun demanded a 15 percent bribe to release the bill. He claimed that he paid Tk 500,000 Monday, but was later asked for another Tk 500,000 and was allegedly being harassed while his bill remained withheld.
Hasibul further alleged that he went to Humayun’s office on Wednesday to discuss the outstanding bill. At that time, Humayun and his associate Moslem Uddin allegedly beat him with an iron pipe, breaking his hand.
The contractor was later admitted to Faridpur Medical College Hospital. The incident has sparked tension among local residents.
Denying the allegation, Humayun said the bill had not been released because the contractor’s work was incomplete. He said the municipal administrator and the upazila nirbahi officer had instructed them not to release the payment until the work was completed.
He also alleged that Hasibul became angry because he had refused to sign the bill and attacked him in his office.
Nagarkanda Municipal Administrator and Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Rezwana Afrin said she was aware of the contractor’s bill. She said irregularities had been found in the work and that the contractor had been instructed to complete it before the bill could be paid. However, she said she did not know why the contractor had gone to the administrative officer’s office.
Calling the alleged assault inside a government office undesirable, the UNO said, “We will discuss the matter with the higher authorities, investigate the incident and take legal action.”
