Five fisheries department officials served notices over Facebook reactions

Five officials of the Department of Fisheries have been served separate show-cause notices for reacting to and commenting on a Facebook post made by expatriate journalist Zulkarnain Saer Khan.

The officials are assistant director of the fisheries department ASM Sanowar Russell; senior assistant director of the fish inspection and quality control office Salmun Hasan; senior upazila fisheries officer of Akhaura in Brahmanbaria Rawnak Jahan; assistant project director of the hilsa resource development and management project Farid Hossain; and its assistant chief Abu Mohammad Asaduzzaman.

The notices were issued on 4 May by Abdur Rouf, the acting director general of the Department of Fisheries.

According to sources, fisheries adviser Faridha Akhter issued a demi-official (DO) letter to public administration ministry’s senior secretary Mokhlesur Rahman on 25 January, recommending the promotion of Tofazzel Hossain, who is an additional secretary but serves routine duties as secretary of the fisheries ministry, to the rank of secretary.

Citing past allegations and controversies over Tofazzel Hossain, journalist Zulkarnain Saer Khan posted criticism about this on Facebook on 14 April. The five officials reacted to and commented on the post. Two of the five officials confirmed to Prothom Alo that they had received such notices.

All the notices were served in identical language, stating that the concerned officials must explain why disciplinary action should not be taken against them under the Government Employees Discipline and Appeal Rules 2018 and the Guidelines for the Use of Social Media in Government Institutions, 2019. They were asked to present satisfactory answers within three working days.

When contacted from Prothom Alo, acting director general Abdur Rouf neither confirmed nor denied issuing the notices. He was contacted later for comments as per his instruction, but he did not respond.

Two officials submitted their responses within the stipulated time. They told Prothom Alo that as of now, no further action has been taken against them.

Meanwhile, journalist Zulkarnain Saer Khan shared the original post again on Saturday, adding a new comment – “Unbelievable! Five officials of the fisheries department have been served show-cause notices just for reacting with a 'sad' emoji on this post.”