UNO faces probe over sexual abuse, fraudulence

An upazila nirbahi officer is facing investigation over allegations of sexual harassment and fraudulence made by a college student in Mirzapur, Tangail.

Manjur Hossain, currently the UNO of Karimganj, Kishoreganj, allegedly made false promises of marriage to the young woman and lived with her in rented houses when he was the UNO of Basail upazila in Tangail.

The woman submitted a written complaint to the senior secretary of the public service ministry sometime in February.

The deputy commissioner's office in Tangail is looking into the allegations.

According to the complaint, the woman was introduced to Manjur on Facebook when he was the UNO of Basail last year.

Manjur developed a relationship hiding the fact that he was married and had two daughters, it added.

One day, he took her to his official residence and coerced her into having sex with him.

Later, her parents arranged her marriage with someone else, but the UNO somehow stopped the marriage, read the complaint.

"He then took me from home to a guest house in Tangail town, making promises of marriage. He later rented a house in the Kumudini College area [hiding his identity]... and we lived like a married couple for two months," read the statement.

"I always asked him to marry me and he always made promises of marriage…. He asked me to be patient and sought time…. I was a helpless girl who left her family. I believed him," read the complaint.

Manjur then told her that he would marry her in India and took her to Hyderabad in September last year, falsely claiming in documents that she had to go there for treatment. 

During their 12-day stay at a rented house in the Indian city, she learnt that Manjur had a wife and two children, it added.

Instead of marrying her, Manjur later threatened to kill her and forcibly deleted  their photos, messages, and other data from her phone in an attempt to destroy the evidence that could prove his relationship with the woman.

This correspondent could not reach Manjur who didn't answer the phone.

Ataul Gani, deputy commissioner in Tangail, told The Daily Star that Sohana Nasrin, an additional deputy commissioner, was investigating the matter.

"The investigation report will be submitted to the authorities concerned by the next three to four work days," he added.