19,000 complaints, Tk 557.31cr in bribes
Nearly 19,000 complaints have been submitted in the past 24 days on “ghush.site”, an online platform recently launched to report irregularities and bribery demands in accessing government services.
The total amount of money reportedly demanded as bribes from citizens on the platform stands at around Tk 557.31 crore.
Shahed Sharif Ahmed, the 17-year-old who created “ghush.site” and became a nationwide talking point, confirmed the figures to the media on Monday.
He said that between the website’s launch on 21 August and 13 September, 18,899 complaints had been submitted, with the total amount demanded as bribes reaching Tk 557.31 crore. Of these, 1,196 complaints related to bribes demanded at various government offices in Mymensingh district, with land offices in Mymensingh division receiving the highest number of complaints.
Shahed’s mother, Amina Khatun, was a teacher at Azmatpur Government Primary School in Mymensingh Sadar. She died on 16 December 2022 due to illness, having served 13 years at the time of her death.
According to the family, around Tk 7 lakh had accumulated in Amina Khatun’s provident fund. To withdraw that money, they had to pay Tk 10,000 at the treasury office, Tk 20,000 at the district education office, and Tk 8,000 at the upazila primary education office. By the family’s calculation, they had to pay Tk 38,000 in bribes in the process of receiving the Tk 7 lakh.
The family also claims that Tk 2 lakh from Amina Khatun’s welfare fund and a further Tk 8 lakh due from the Ministry of Public Administration on account of her death in service were owed to them – Tk 10 lakh in total. To release this amount, officials at the relevant education office allegedly demanded a further Tk 1 lakh, warning that the file would not move forward without payment.
Seeing his father’s experience of having to pay bribes to collect his late mother’s government dues left Shahed Sharif Ahmed angry.
He also encountered demands for bribes while getting his own passport made. It was this question – why should bribes have to be paid to access government services – that led him to create the online bribery-complaint platform “ghush.site”.
Shariful Islam Shamim then reported that he had to pay a Tk 8,000 bribe at the Mymensingh Sadar upazila primary education office, and posted about it on Ghush Site. The matter then became a major talking point.
Following this complaint, on 31 August, Sadar Upazila Primary Education Officer Monika Parvin issued show-cause notices to accounts assistant A H M Nadirul Hasan Sabuj and office assistant-cum-computer operator Muhammad Mujibur Rahman of the Mymensingh Sadar upazila education office. The notices asked them to respond within three working days.
