Two journalists were harassed while visiting the upazila parishad on Wednesday morning to inquire about allegations of irregularities in the construction of a Bir Nibash, homes built for underprivileged freedom fighters, in Madhukhali, Faridpur.
The contractor responsible for the construction of the Bir Nibash, Md Atiyar Sheikh, 49, threatened and verbally abused the two journalists inside a room at the upazila parishad, in the presence of officials and employees.
Md Atiyar Sheikh, the contractor who issued the threats, resides in West Garakhora Mohalla of Madhukhali municipality. He serves as the manager for Madhukhali Upazila Parishad Chairman Md Shahidul Islam.
The two journalists involved in this incident are Inamul Khandkar, 28, a staff reporter for Daily Nagrik Barta, and Anjan Saha, 48, the upazila correspondent for Daily Bhobar Kagaz.
Inamul filed a general diary (GD) at Madhukhali police station on Wednesday night, detailing the events.
According to the GD, at around 11am, when the journalists visited the office of the upazila project implementation officer to inquire about a complaint regarding the construction of the freedom fighter's house, Md Atiyar Sheikh, verbally abused and threatened them.
At one point, he forcefully took their camera phones and proceeded to insult and demean the journalism profession.
Dhaka TribuneInamul mentioned that the house was being constructed on the compound of the late freedom fighter Akbar Sheikh's residence in Khalpari village of Meghchami union. The son of the freedom fighter, Sajjad Hossain, complained that the house was being built with subpar bricks, insufficient cement and excessive sand, without proper finishing.
According to the office of the upazila project implementation officer, the construction of 63 Bir Nibash houses is currently underway in this upazila, with Md Atiyar Sheikh working on 43 of them in five different packages.
When questioned, the upazila project implementation officer, Md Abdul Alim, stated that the two journalists showed him a video related to the complaint regarding the construction work. At that moment, Atiyar entered the room and engaged in misconduct towards them. Later, the journalists reported the incident to the upazila nirbahi officer (UNO).
Atiyar said he is aware of the GD filed against him and claimed that there were no irregularities in his work. He mentioned working as a manager in the contractor company of the upazila parishad chairman.
Dhaka Tribune could not reach the upazila chairman for comment as he is in Saudia Arabia to perform hajj.
Upazila Vice Chairman Muraduzzaman said that he had asked the UNO to take action in this matter.
UNO Md Ashiqur Rahman stated that the issue was resolved on the same day by mediating a discussion between the journalists and the contractor. He acknowledged that the journalists were dissatisfied with it as they later filed a GD. Since the matter has entered the legal system, it will be resolved through legal means.
He also mentioned instructing the project implementation officer to address any irregularities found in the contractor's work. If irregularities are identified and not rectified, the contractor's payment will be halted.