14 Secretariat employees sent to jail over allowance protest
Earlier, on 12 December, a court had placed the 14 on a five-day remand each in a case filed under the Anti-Terrorism Act
A Dhaka court has sent 14 Secretariat officials and employees to jail after the completion of their five-day remand in a case filed under the Anti-Terrorism Act in connection with protests over the demand for a "Secretariat allowance."
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Nazmin Akter passed the order following a hearing today (17 December), according to defence lawyer Farzana Yasmin Rakhi.
Those sent to jail include Bangladesh Secretariat Officers and Employees United Council President Badiul Kabir and Vice-President Mohammad Shahin Golam Rabbani.
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Badiul Kabir is a personal officer at the Ministry of Public Administration, while Rabbani is an administrative officer at the health ministry.
Other accused are Nazrul Islam, office assistant at the Ministry of Public Administration; Roman Gazi, administrative officer at the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare; Abu Belal and Kamal Hossain, office assistants at the health ministry and the public administration ministry respectively; Md Taiful Islam, personal officer to an additional secretary at the health ministry; Bipul Rana Biplob, office assistant at the Ministry of Finance; Md Alimuzzaman, office assistant at the Ministry of Public Administration; Bikash Chandra Roy, administrative officer at the health ministry; Islamul Haque and Md Mohsin Ali, personal officers at the health ministry of Health; Mizanur Rahman Sumon, publicity secretary of the united council and office assistant at the information ministry; and Nasirul Haque Nasi, office assistant at the Cabinet Division.
After the remand period, KM Rezaul Karim, Sub-Inspector (SI) of Shahbagh Police Station, produced the accused before the court and sought their detention in jail.
The defence, led by lawyer Farzana Yasmin Rakhi, sought bail for all the accused, which the court rejected after hearing both sides.
Earlier, on 12 December, a court had placed the 14 on a five-day remand each in a case filed under the Anti-Terrorism Act.
According to the case details, secretariat employees staged rallies, meetings and protests demanding the introduction of a "Secretariat allowance."
On 10 December, these protesters allegedly confined Finance Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed inside the Secretariat for nearly seven hours to press their demand.
With police assistance, the adviser later returned home. The protesters withdrew their programme around 8:30pm after receiving an assurance of a government order (GO).
However, when the notification was not issued by 3pm on 11 December, the employees gathered again at the Secretariat, chanted slogans and announced plans for a full-day work abstention from the following week.
Police initially detained five protesters from the Secretariat and took them into custody, later increasing the number to 14.
Following the incident, ASI Hafizur Rahman, a member of the force deployed at the Bangladesh Secretariat, filed the case under the Anti-Terrorism Act at Shahbagh Police Station.
