Rajshahi: Five members of the Fire Service and Civil Defense have been removed from their positions after an attempt to illegally collect 300 liters of petrol and octane using a counterfeit requisition letter. The incident took place at a filling station where the fuel was intended to be collected under the guise of official need.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the individuals involved have been withdrawn from the Nowhata Station located in Paba Upazila, Rajshahi, and have been reassigned to the headquarters in Dhaka. The personnel implicated in the fraudulent activity include Leader Robiul Alam, driver Azizur Rahman, and firefighters Zakir Hossain, Yasir Arafat, and Abbas Ali.
Warehouse Inspector Niranjan Sarkar, in-charge of the Fire Service’s Nowhata Station, confirmed the withdrawal of the five personnel. He stated, “I was on leave and only returned to the office on Thursday morning. Due to the immediacy of the issue, I wasn’t able to issue show-cause notices or seek explanations. Once the incident was discovered, the headquarters promptly closed their assignments and had them transferred to Dhaka.”
Niranjan Sarkar further mentioned that he hadn’t had the chance to meet with the individuals since they departed for Dhaka around 9 PM on Wednesday. An investigation is set to follow, which will determine the departmental actions to be taken.
The fraudulent activity came to light when Robiul Alam, who was temporarily in charge during Niranjan Sarkar’s leave, created a fake requisition letter. He then attempted to collect fuel using a government vehicle. The suspicious actions were noticed by police personnel at the filling station, who, after consulting with higher authorities, confirmed that there was no official requirement for the fuel.
The 300 liters of fuel were subsequently reclaimed from the individuals involved. Initial investigations by Fire Service officials suggest that the fake requisition and government vehicle were used to obtain fuel for personal use on motorcycles.