Trishal Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Arafat Siddique of Mymensingh has been withdrawn and attached to the Ministry of Public Administration.
The decision was taken after allegations of beating an employee of the leaseholder at Balur Ghat and its CCTV footage spread on social media.
Mymensingh Additional Deputy Commissioner (Sovereign) Reza Md. Ghulam Masum confirmed this. Earlier on Thursday, the Ministry of Public Administration issued a notification in this regard.
A scene from the CCTV footage
On Wednesday afternoon, the UNO was accused of beating up an employee of a leaseholder at a sand ghat in Kulurbaria area of Kathal union of Trishal.
CCTV footage circulating on social media showed that the UNO slapped the activist twice in a row. Later, when a member of RAB tried to remove him, the UNO took a stick from him and hit the worker several times.
Trishal Upazila Assistant Commissioner (Land) Md. Mahbubur Rahman tried to stop the UNO.
After the video of the incident, there was a lot of discussion and criticism locally.
The later regrets
A local meeting was held on Thursday afternoon. Members of parliament Mahbubur Rahman and local BNP leaders and activists were present at the meeting held at a hospital in Trishal municipal area.
At one point during the meeting, UNO Arafat Siddiqui came to the spot and expressed regret for the incident.
Responding to a question from the media, he said, “There was a sudden incident during the legal proceedings and sorry for this.
In the meantime, in the notification of the Ministry of Public Administration, he was withdrawn from the duties of Trishal Upazila Nirbahi Officer and attached to the ministry.