A contractor has alleged that the administrative officer of Nagarkanda municipality and his aide assaulted him and broke his hand after he refused to pay a bribe for the release of a pending bill.
The accused are municipal Administrative Officer Humayun Kabir and his aide Moslem Uddin.
Contractor Hasibul Hasan Abdullah alleged that the incident took place in the administrative officer’s room at the municipality around 1:00pm on Wednesday.
He was initially taken to Nagarkanda Upazila Health Complex and later referred to Faridpur General Hospital for further treatment.
Hasibul said his company, Syeda Jahanara Enterprises, carried out RCC casting work on three roads under the IUIDP project in 2023.
He said the bill for the work was approved about eight months ago but has yet to be paid.
According to Hasibul, Humayun demanded 15 percent of the bill as a bribe for releasing the payment. He claimed he had already paid Tk 5 lakh on August 10 but was later asked to pay another Tk 5 lakh.
Hasibul alleged that when he went to the municipality office on Wednesday to discuss the pending bill, Humayun and Moslem assaulted him with a galvanised iron pipe, leaving his hand fractured.
He said he filed a complaint with police over the incident.
Humayun, however, denied demanding any bribe. He told local journalists that the bill had not been paid because the contractor’s work remained incomplete.
He said the municipality administrator and Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) had instructed officials not to release the payment until the work was completed.
Humayun also claimed that the contractor, angered by the decision, came to their room and attacked them first. He denied assaulting the contractor or breaking his hand with a GI pipe.
Nagarkanda municipality Administrator and UNO Rezwana Afrin said she was aware of the contractor’s bill.
She said payment was withheld due to discrepancies in the work and will not be released until the work was completed.
The UNO said she did not know why the contractor went to the administrative officer’s room.
Describing any incident of assault inside a government office as undesirable, Rezwana said the matter will be investigated and legal action will be taken accordingly.