UZ chairman removed on graft charge

Shamsul Haque Talukder

Bhuapur Upazila Parishad Chairman Shamsul Haque Talukder has been removed on corruption charges.
Mohammad Abdus Sabur, deputy secretary of the local government, rural development and cooperatives ministry, sent a letter to the deputy commissioner of Tangail in this regard on Tuesday.
Vice-Chairman Selina Akhter has been given the charge of acting upazila parishad chairman, said Bhuapur Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Helaluzzaman, who received a copy of the letter the same day.
The upazila parishad chairman was found guilty of misappropriating Tk 16 lakh from government funds and removed from his post under Section 13 (2) of the Upazila Parishad Act-1998 (amended in 2011), the letter said.
UNO office sources said Shamsul Haque Talukder misappropriated the government funds in June 2011, showing a false resolution of the upazila parishad on completion of works of four projects.
He submitted the bills for Tk 16 lakh to the then upazila engineer Al Faruki without finishing the project works and then UNO KM Abdul Wadud approved the bills, sources added.
After revealing the corruption, an official of Bhuapur upazila brought the matter to the notice of UNO Helaluzzaman, who verified the papers and found chairman's involvement in misappropriating the money.
The UNO later forwarded his findings to the ministry that took action against the upazila parishad chairman.
This correspondent could not contact sacked chairman Shamsul Haque Talukder to know his reaction to the ministry's action as his cellphone was switched off.