14 Secretariat Staff Suspended Over Allowance Agitation

The government has suspended 14 Secretariat employees for their alleged roles in protests demanding a special “Secretariat allowance,” officials said.

Separate suspension orders were issued by the respective ministries on December 15 after a court accepted charge sheets filed against the employees in related cases.

Those suspended include Badiul Kabir, president of the Secretariat Officers and Employees United Council, along with vice-presidents Shahin Golam Rabbani and Nazrul Islam.

Others placed under suspension are Md Taiful Islam, Bikash Chandra Roy, Islamul Haque, Md Mohsin Ali, Roman Gazi and Abu Belal from the Ministry of Health; Mizanur Rahman Sumon from the Ministry of Information; Kamal Hossain and Md Alimuzzaman from the Ministry of Public Administration; Bipul Rana Biplob from the Ministry of Finance; and Nasirul Haque from the Cabinet Division.

On December 12, a Dhaka court placed 14 individuals, including Badiul Kabir and Shahin Golam Rabbani, on five days’ remand each in a case filed under the Anti-Terrorism Act with Shahbagh Police Station.

According to the case details, the accused allegedly organised rallies, meetings and demonstrations demanding the allowance and unlawfully confined the finance adviser during the protest.

On December 10, Secretariat employees reportedly held Finance Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed inside the Secretariat for nearly seven hours to press their demand. He later returned home with police assistance, while protesters withdrew their programme around 8:30pm after receiving assurances of a government order.

When no notification was issued by 3:00pm the following day, employees gathered again at the Secretariat, chanting slogans and announcing plans for a full-day work abstention from the next week.

Police initially detained five protesters, later increasing the number to 14, and took them into custody.