Councillor Nizam Ul Azim yesterday took charge as acting mayor of Rajshahi City Corporation (RCC) following the suspension of mayor Mosaddek Hossain Bulbul.
Chief Executive Officer of the RCC Ajahar Ali handed over all charges to the acting mayor in the presence of staff and councillors of the city corporation in the morning.
Earlier, a letter from the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development had reached the city corporation bhaban on Monday evening, said RCC Public Relations Officer Amirul Karim.
Amirul Karim said Azim, councillor from ward 21 of the city corporation, has been made acting mayor to run smoothly the regular activities of the corporation.
On May 7, Mayor Mosaddek Hossain Bulbul was suspended as a district court accepted a charge sheet against him in several cases, including the police constable Siddhartha Sarker murder case in Rajshahi.
According to the City Corporation Act, if a charge sheet is accepted against any city corporation mayor or councillor, the government may suspend him in consultation with the Election Commission. Now, Bulbul remains absconding.
Meanwhile, a high court bench on May 28 issued a rule to the ministry of local government regarding why the suspension order of mayor Bulbul would not be declared illegal, confirmed Advocate Mohammad Aminul Haque, lawyer on behalf of petitioner Bulbul.
The bench of Justice Mirja Hussain Haidar and Justice AKM Jahurul Haque issued the rule.
The bench has also stayed the suspension order for a month, Aminul added. Azim sought all-out cooperation from all quarters to make the corporation a full-fledged public institution.