TIMES Report Kurigram
A Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE) official in Kurigram’s Roumari upazila has come under scrutiny over allegations that a reported theft of government supplies was staged to conceal their sale, after a large quantity of items disappeared from a departmental warehouse and no criminal case was filed.
Questions have also emerged over the return of recovered goods from police custody through a written undertaking rather than a formal court process, with some local residents alleging possible collusion between police and those linked to the disappearance of the government property.
The allegations centre on Tarikul Islam, a sub-assistant engineer with the DPHE. According to sources, a substantial quantity of materials went missing from a departmental warehouse in Roumari on 16 April.
The missing items included 110 UNICEF-branded 20-litre buckets and lids, 290 ten-litre jerrycans, four ceiling fans, more than 400 bottles of hand sanitiser and over 400 napkins.
Despite the disappearance being detected in mid-April, a general diary (GD) was filed with Roumari Police Station only on 1 May, 14 days later.
Following the GD, police recovered buckets, jerrycans and some tools from the hardware shops of Abdus Salam, Abdul Malek, Shahidur Rahman, Monjur Alam and Pradip Chandra in Roumari Bazaar.
However, on 4 June, the recovered goods were reportedly taken back from the police station through a written bond without any regular criminal case being filed against those accused.
Local sources alleged that Tarikul Islam had sold the government supplies himself and later attempted to present the matter as a theft after details of the incident became known.
According to the same sources, a GD was eventually filed as a formality and the recovered materials were later retrieved in an effort to bring the matter to a close.
Asked why no case had been lodged, Tarikul Islam said higher authorities were unwilling to proceed with legal action.
When journalists sought a copy of the GD, he declined to provide it and said: “I am obliged to follow whatever instructions are given by my superiors. You may write whatever you wish.”
That explanation was rejected by Harunur Rashid, executive engineer of the Department of Public Health Engineering in Kurigram.
“I clearly instructed him to file a case. I will ask him why he failed to do so and will inform you accordingly,” he said.
Tensions reportedly escalated on Thursday when local journalists attempted to photograph the recovered goods after they had been returned from the police station.
Witnesses alleged that Tarikul Islam confronted the journalists and behaved discourteously.
At one stage, he allegedly tried to seize the mobile phone of journalist Sakhawat Hossain but was stopped by other journalists present.
Responding to questions over whether recovered stolen property can be returned without court approval, Roumari Police Station Officer-in-Charge Md Kawsar Ali said police may hand over seized goods to a custodian on the basis of a written undertaking when the matter is recorded through a GD.
Roumari Upazila Nirbahi Officer Md Alauddin told local newspaper Kalbela that he would seek clarification from the relevant official regarding the absence of a criminal case and would report the matter to higher authorities.
