Dhaka: 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.

According to United News of Bangladesh, the accused individuals are municipal Administrative Officer Humayun Kabir and his aide Moslem Uddin. Contractor Hasibul Hasan Abdullah claimed that the incident occurred in the administrative officer’s room at the municipality around 1:00 pm on Wednesday. Following the alleged assault, Hasibul was initially treated at Nagarkanda Upazila Health Complex before being referred to Faridpur General Hospital for further medical attention.

Hasibul stated that his company, Syeda Jahanara Enterprises, had completed RCC casting work on three roads under the IUIDP project in 2023. Although the bill for this work was approved approximately eight months ago, it has not yet been paid. He further alleged that Humayun demanded 15 percent of the bill as a bribe to release the payment and claimed that he had already paid Tk 5 lakh on August 10. Despite this, he was later asked to pay an additional Tk 5 lakh.

Hasibul accused Humayun and Moslem of assaulting him with a galvanized iron pipe when he visited the municipality office on Wednesday to discuss the pending bill, resulting in a fractured hand. He has since filed a complaint with the police regarding the incident.

In response to the allegations, Humayun denied any demand for a bribe. He informed local journalists that the bill had not been paid because the contractor’s work was incomplete. He explained that the municipality administrator and Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) had directed officials not to release the payment until the work was finished. Humayun also claimed that the contractor, frustrated by this decision, initiated the confrontation by attacking them first, and he denied using a GI pipe to assault the contractor.

Nagarkanda municipality Administrator and UNO Rezwana Afrin confirmed her awareness of the contractor’s bill. She stated that payment was withheld due to discrepancies in the work and insisted that it would not be released until the work was completed. Rezwana said she was unaware of the contractor’s reasons for visiting the administrative officer’s room. She described any incident of assault inside a government office as undesirable and assured that the matter would be investigated, with legal action to be taken as necessary.