Ataur Rahman Bachhu, the Jamaat-e-Islami lawmaker for Narail-2 constituency, has sacked his private secretary (PS) Abu Saleh Mohammad Gofran following a scandal involving the inclusion of his daughter’s name on a list of beneficiaries for his discretionary fund.
The dismissal of PS was attributed to “negligence of duty” and became effective on Sunday. The MP posted the signed dismissal letter on his official Facebook page to confirm the decision.
The controversy arose when it was discovered that the MP’s daughter, Nuzhat Tabassum Faiza, was listed twice as a recipient of financial assistance meant for the underprivileged. Using only her nickname, “Faiza,” she appeared at the first and eighth positions on the list, with Tk10,000 allocated to each entry.
Discrepancies were also noted in the father’s name provided on the document; the first entry listed the father as “Md Bachhu,” while the eighth listed “Md Ataur,” effectively using different parts of the MP’s name for each entry.
Speaking to TIMES of Bangladesh, Ataur defended himself by claiming administrative inexperience. “I am a new lawmaker and have not become ‘matured’ yet,” he stated, adding that he did not understand the mechanics of the process.
The MP alleged that after taking his oath in February, his PS informed him that names were urgently required for the voluntary fund. While Ataur claimed he initially suggested consulting local union and upazila activists, he said the PS insisted there was no time and suggested using “known names” instead.
The lawmaker further explained that he had left several signed pads in Dhaka, which the PS reportedly used to print and submit the final list without his further oversight.
Official records from the Finance Branch-2 of the Parliament Secretariat show that on June 18, a grant of Tk183,500 was authorised for 10 individuals from Ataur’s discretionary fund.
Following the public exposure of nepotism, the MP announced that he would now distribute the funds to genuine beneficiaries. He stated that a new list would be sent to the Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) for proper distribution.
