Police have taken four Secretariat employees into custody in connection with the confinement of Finance Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed in his office.
The employees were detained around 3:50pm on Thursday.
On Wednesday, the adviser was confined to his office at the Finance Division of the ministry from 2:30pm before being allowed to leave at 8:15pm with police assistance.
Protesters, mostly officers and staff from various ministries demanding a 20 per cent Secretariat allowance, used a hand microphone to chant slogans in front of the adviser’s door, including “bhua, bhua!” (fake, fake!).
When a specialised police unit attempted to intervene, scuffles broke out as law enforcers tried to disperse them.
The employees’ demand follows the government’s announcement of a “Dearness Allowance” for public servants, which has not yet been implemented.
The new Pay Commission’s report is in its final stages, and the Finance Adviser has repeatedly said that an elected government will take steps to implement it.
This is not the first protest at the Secretariat. On 22 June, employees staged a demonstration outside the Finance Division calling for the cancellation of the Government Service Ordinance.
The government has repeatedly issued orders banning unauthorised meetings and assemblies within the Secretariat. Despite these instructions, employees continue to stage protests on various issues.
