Palli Bidyut Samity AGM arrested in Brahmanbaria
SK Sakil Ahmed, 31, assistant general manager (AGM) of Brahmanbaria Palli Bidyut Samity, has been arrested on charges of destabilising the power sector, hours after his dismissal from the job.
An army team arrested him from his rented house in the Ghatura area of Brahmanbaria sadar upazila and handed him over to the police. He is son of Sheikh Tafil Uddin from Paikgachha village under Khulna sadar upazila.
The officer-in-charge (OC) of Brahmanbaria sadar police station, Mozaffar Hossain, confirmed the arrest to Prothom Alo, saying the army men handed him over to the police, after arresting him in a case filed with the Khilkhet police station in Dhaka on allegation of destablising the power sector.
He also said they informed the Khilkhet police station about the arrest and will hand him over soon.
According to the rural electrification board (REB) sources, Sakil Ahmed joined the REB on 31 October, 2021, and was initially posted at the Bhola Palli Bidyut Samity office on 7 November of the year. Later, he was transferred to Brahmanbaria Palli Bidyut Samity on 15 July, 2023.
Speaking to Prothom Alo, his wife Mehjabin Rahman said he was suspended on 29 April over the incident of emailing a memorandum to the REB chairman from 80 Palli Bidyut associations regarding their demands.
The suspension order was revoked on 14 July, but he was dismissed on Thursday night, she said, adding the soldiers arrested him in the morning and took to the police station.
"Is this justice?" she asked.
Arshad Hossain, director of the REB legal wing, filed a case with the Khilkhet police station Thursday night, accusing four officials.
Apart from Sakil, the other accused are Ali Hasan Mohammad Ariful Islam, deputy general aanager of Vobaniganj regional office in Lakshmipur; Zafar Sadiq Khan, AGM of Narayanganj Palli Bidyut Samity-1, and Mainul Hasan, line technician at Narsingdi Belabo sub-regional office.
According to the case, nearly 4,000 officials and employees of the associations, under the leadership of the four accused, surrounded the REB headquarters on 8 August. They passed threats and warnings of movement and murder, to press home different demands, including cancellation of their transfer orders.
They issued another threat to besiege the REB on 21 September and announced a blockade programme on 1 October.
On Thursday, the group enforced a shutdown at their workplaces and cut off the electricity connections around 11am, causing public harassment. With this, they are trying to create a stalemate in the power sector to trigger hatred and animosity among the public.
They are trying to tarnish the image of the interim government and put it in an embarrassing situation. It is tantamount to treason, noted the case statement.
cut off electricity connections at workplaces around 11:00 a.m., causing public frustration and discomfort. This created immobility in the power sector, leading to anger among the public. The accused are alleged to have tried to tarnish the image of the interim government and cause embarrassment, which amounts to treason.