BCS cadre (health) officer Dr Zobaida Rahman, the wife of BNP Senior Vice-Chairman Tarique Rahman, is likely to lose her government job for unauthorised leave and staying abroad illegally.
The health and family welfare ministry has begun a move to take action against Zobaida after her five years staying in abroad comprehensively and not joining service within due time according to the service rules.
MM Neaz Uddin, health and family welfare secretary, told the Dhaka Tribune on Sunday that the ministry had begun to move in this regard.
“We were waiting for her response and return to service according to the service rules. The deadline has been crossed; we will proceed now for further steps,” the secretary said.
The deadline for Zobaida to join service was on Sunday, failing which, as per the service rules, she faces termination.
Zobaida has been staying in London with her husband from September 8, 2008. But her leave started from April 9 the same year.
She had taken three months leave from the authorities concerned to visit London with her husband. But she did not return to Bangladesh in time.
Health ministry officials said Zobaida twice submitted her prayers seeking leave for staying abroad.
The authorities approved her leave up to October 10, 2010 to stay abroad for higher studies. But instead of returning home she submitted two more applications for extending the leave. The authorities rejected these applications and asked her to return to the country and join service. She failed to return to the country and stayed abroad for the last three years without any leave, the ministry officials said.
The secretary said she had been living in abroad for five years while she was granted leave for only two years. According to the service rules, no public official can enjoy a leave of more than five years comprehensively. Authorities may grant a five-year leave for its employees but not more than that.
According to ministry records, Zobaida (ID 41144) joined in the public service in 1995 as a BCS cadre (health) officer.
She was studying as a student of Cardiology Part 3 at the National Institute of Heart Diseases.
