Caught on Camera: Court staff suspended for taking bribe
An office assistant of the speedy trial tribunal in Barishal was suspended on Sunday afternoon, after a video of her demanding and taking bribe from a service-seeker went viral on social media.
The over six minutes video, uploaded on Thursday, showed Rekha Rani Das was taking bribe from applicants for receiving certified copies of legal documents. It showed, Rekha was engaged in an altercation with an applicant while demanding Tk 1,000 from him for certified copy of a bail bond, even after he paid the necessary court fees.
Advocate AKM Jahangir Hossain, public prosecutor, said Judge AHM Mahbubur Rahman of the tribunal issued the suspension order.
The applicant, Muniruzzaman Munir, said the district judge on November 6 granted him bail in a case. He went to the tribunal office on November 11 in court area with an application for the bail order.
The court staff member, Rekha, demanded Tk 1,000 from him. As he refused, she started arguing with him. Meantime, she took money from other applicants.
Amid the commotion, Munir recorded the incident and eventually uploaded the video on social media.
Rekha, however, denied taking bribe. “I only took money for copying documents. I had to copy a large amount of paper, related to the case.”
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