Jashore primary education officer held with Tk1.2 lakh bribe

Jashore District Primary Education Officer Ashraful Alam was caught red-handed while allegedly taking bribes, as a team from the Jashore Integrated District Office of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) conducted a raid at his office on Wednesday afternoon.

During the operation at the District Primary Education Office, the ACC team detained Ashraful Alam and recovered Tk120,000 in cash from his office room.

The raid was led by ACC Deputy Director Md Salauddin and Assistant Director Md Al Amin.

According to the ACC, Mohammad Nurunnabi, an assistant teacher at Basundia Khanpara Government Primary School in Jashore Sadar upazila, had approached the district education office seeking the release of his late wife’s pension benefits. His wife, Shirina Akhter, had served as a teacher at Kauria Government Primary School in Jhikargachha and passed away on 2 October last year.

Nurunnabi alleged that Ashraful Alam had been harassing him for the past three months over the pension file. At one stage, he paid Tk80,000 as a bribe. However, when further payments were demanded, he initially refused. The education officer reportedly warned that the pension would not be released without additional bribes.

On Wednesday, Nurunnabi handed over Tk120,000 in cash to get the pension file processed. Acting on a tip-off from a confidential source, ACC officials arrived at the office and arrested Ashraful Alam along with the bribe money.

ACC Assistant Director Md Al Amin said the accused officer was being further interrogated and that preparations were under way to file a case against him.