Staff Reporter :
Government and semi-government officials across various departments are increasingly apprehensive about discharging their duties due to the circulation of false reports.
It has come to light that certain underground newspapers have been publishing distorted articles targeting government employees, following the release of corruption reports involving former Inspector General of Police Benazir Ahmed, former National Board of Revenue member Matiur Rahman, and several police officers.
Additionally, many officials are reluctant to carry out their responsibilities, fearing political retaliation following the ousting of the 14-party alliance-led Awami League government. Taking advantage of the situation, some underground journalists are allegedly filing fake reports against officials.
These reporters reportedly send mobile numbers to officials, demanding money through mobile financial services like Bkash. If the officials refuse or fail to send the money, the journalists threaten to publish corruption allegation report against them.
Several officials of the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) have confirmed to this correspondent that they have been targeted with such extortion attempts.
They claimed that journalists have demanded money under the threat of publishing defamatory reports.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, BIWTA officials mentioned that newspapers such as Goenda Dairy, Muktir Larai, Pickagoj.com, Panjery, Mukta Bangla, Sabuj Bangla, Bartaman Kotha, and Bhorer Pata have been consistently publishing fake reports. The officials have urged anti-corruption agencies to scrutinise these reports carefully before taking any action against them based on fabricated claims.
“Journalism has ethics. Every journalist should adhere to a code of conduct before filing any reports,” Commodore Arif Ahmed Mustafa, Chairman of BIWTA, told this correspondent.
In response to a query, Commodore Mustafa stated that the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has conducted several investigations based on these reports but found no evidence of wrongdoing by BIWTA officials. He also appealed to journalists to refrain from harassing officials with baseless accusations.
“If my officials perform their duties with integrity, neither the ACC nor the journalists will be able to harm them,” he added. The BIWTA Chairman acknowledged the challenges of dredging and highlighted the progress made under his leadership. “So far, around 1,000 kilometres of waterways have been restored across the country,” he said.
