Local residents vandalized the car of Kotchandpur Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Usen Ma in Jhenaidah for alleged mismanagement and arriving late at the upazila's Victory Day event on Monday.
The UNO was also harassed during the incident, which occurred at around 8:30am on the premises of the local boys' school Shaheed Minar in Kotchandpur town.
According to locals, the annual Victory Day program is held at the central Shaheed Minar in the upazila. While the Shaheed Minar is usually cleaned and decorated for special occasions, this year it was left unprepared.
There were no microphone arrangements, and no security measures were taken to control the crowd, they claimed.
The upazila administration paid homage at the Shaheed Minar at 8am, followed by political parties and various social organizations.
However, UNO Usen Ma arrived at 8:30am, which angered the attendees.
The delay, combined with the mismanagement, further agitated the crowd.
When the UNO got out of his car, the angry crowd surrounded her and began protesting.
As the UNO tried to respond, she was harassed.
Local BNP leaders, along with police and Ansar personnel, intervened to manage the situation.
At one point, the crowd started pelting bricks and stones at the UNO’s car, shattering its windows.
Later, at around 10am, with the assistance of local political leaders and the police, UNO Usen Ma paid tribute at the Shaheed Minar and participated in the upazila administration's remaining programs.
Abdur Razzak, president of the upazila BNP, said that people were unhappy due to the organizers’ mismanagement.
Although the situation was eventually resolved, some individuals vandalized the UNO’s car by throwing bricks and stones.
Attempts to contact UNO Usen Ma for comment were unsuccessful as she did not answer her phone.
Deputy Commissioner Md Abdul Awal said he was aware of the incident but could not yet understand the reasons behind it.
“National events usually involve several individuals handling responsibilities. It is unclear why these lapses occurred,” he said.
