From dubious recruitment to rape allegation: Controversy trails Khulna Zilla Parishad staffer Aslam

Khulna Correspondent :

For more than a decade, Md. Aslam Hossain, an Office Assistant-cum-Computer Operator at Khulna Zilla Parishad, has been dogged by allegations ranging from corruption and abuse of power to political partisanship and even criminal misconduct.

Despite repeated complaints, investigations, and transfers, he has managed to remain in service – raising pressing questions about how he continues to evade accountability.
Aslam’s appointment in February 2007 was controversial from the outset.

Though he placed second in the recruitment test, an internal inquiry found that he was listed as first and given the job ahead of the rightful candidate, Md. Gaffar Hossain. The Local Government Department cancelled his appointment in December that year and ordered Gaffar’s reinstatement.

But Aslam fought back in court. He won a favourable verdict at the District Judge’s Court, and when the Zilla Parishad appealed, the higher court upheld the decision. Crucially, the case was never taken to the High Court Division. Instead, the then CEO of Khulna Zilla Parishad, Md. Nurul Haque, reinstated him on 26 July 2009 – a decision that bypassed the usual chain of accountability.

Barely weeks after rejoining, Aslam became embroiled in a series of disputes. On 6 September 2009, he clashed with three contractors in a fight that spilled into the courts. By November that year, then CEO Md. Abdul Hannan Biswas wrote to the Local Government Ministry urging Aslam’s immediate transfer, warning that his behaviour threatened office discipline, confidentiality, and morale.

Staff members complained of intimidation, with reports that he roamed into colleagues’ offices, rifled through confidential files, and leaked sensitive documents.

Service seekers alleged harassment and demands for bribes. An inquiry also confirmed that he had made derogatory remarks about the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), blurring the lines between civil service neutrality and partisan politics.

Rather than facing disciplinary action, Aslam was repeatedly transferred: from Khulna to Jessore, then to Rajshahi in 2012 after Chuadanga and Bagerhat refused to accept him. Yet, despite his troubled record, he resurfaced in Khulna in 2024 via Jhenaidah, seemingly beyond the reach of meaningful sanction.