14 officials remanded over ‘secretariat allowance’ protests

A Dhaka court has placed 14 officials and employees of the Bangladesh Secretariat on a five-day remand in a case filed under the Anti-Terrorism Act over a protest demanding a “secretariat allowance.”

Metropolitan Magistrate Md Jamsed Alam passed the order on Friday, December 12, following a hearing on a police remand plea. The development became public on Saturday, December 13.

Those remanded include Badiul Kabir, president of the Bangladesh Secretariat Officers and Employees United Council, and vice-presidents Mohammad Shaheen, Golam Rabbani and Nazrul Islam. Badiul Kabir is a personal officer at the Ministry of Public Administration, Shaheen an administrative officer at the Ministry of Health, and Nazrul Islam an office assistant at the Ministry of Public Administration.

The remaining accused are officials and employees from the Ministries of Health and Family Welfare, Public Administration, Finance, Information, and the Cabinet Division.

Defence lawyer Farzana Yasmin told reporters that police had sought a seven-day remand, but the court granted five days after the hearing.

The case stems from an incident on December 10, when secretariat employees staged a protest demanding allowance benefits. During the demonstration, Finance Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed was reportedly confined inside the Secretariat for nearly seven hours before returning home around 8:15pm with police assistance.

MDAA/MHK/NMA