Two officials involved in the broadcast of a controversial programme on Bangladesh Television (BTV) have been suspended, and two others have received show cause notices.
Producer Md Nasir Uddin (Grade-1) and Controller/Programme Manager of BTV Dhaka Centre have been suspended. Meanwhile, show cause notices have been issued to BTV Headquarters Director (News) Nurul Azam and Programme Executive Mahbuba Ferdous.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting issued separate notifications in this regard on Sunday.
According to the ministry, the programme titled Janatar Samman, aired June 27 at 9 pm, tarnished the image of the government and the ministry by presenting issues contrary to government activities.
Nasir Uddin produced the programme and certified it as suitable for broadcast. Mohammad Hasan previewed the programme before airing and forwarded it without raising objections.
According to the ministry, their actions violate Rule 3 (a) and 3 (b) of the ‘Government Employees (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 2018,’ constituting incompetence and misconduct, which are punishable offences. Consequently, Nasir Uddin and Mohammad Hasan have been temporarily suspended under Rule 12(1).
Furthermore, no programmes on BTV can be aired without the approval of General Manager Nurul Azam.
The show cause notice mentioned that the programme tarnished the image of the government and the ministry, with responsibility lying with Nurul Azam and Mahbuba Ferdous. They are instructed to respond in writing within three working days, explaining why departmental action should not be taken against them for the alleged misconduct.