C T Online Desk: Sarwar Jahan Jewel, Mymensingh : Ariful Islam, the executive officer of Fulbaria Upazila of Mymensingh, and Golam Kibria Shimul, the chairman of Radhakanai Union Parishad of the same upazila, have been accused of embezzling Tk 3.5 million from the development assistance fund. The UP members filed a written complaint with the Deputy Commissioner on July 13, 2025.
According to the complaint, the entire amount of development assistance fund for the last 2022-23 and 2023-24 financial years was embezzled in this union without doing any work. In the 2024-25 financial year, Upazila Executive Officer Ariful did not distribute various government allocations for the TR Kabikha allocated for road and ghat renovation and construction, development assistance funds of various unions, distribution of pesticides, fertilizers, rice seeds and water pumps (mortar) to farmers. Rather, the members of the union council are alleging that the UNO itself is involved in embezzling money from these projects. UNO Ariful and the former UP chairman embezzled money by making fake documents and raising bills without doing any work on various projects of the development assistance fund. Earlier, two dealers filed a case against Ariful Islam for nepotism and corruption in rice and MS dealerships. Later, Ariful Islam used government influence to force the defendants to withdraw the case, said the family members of the victims.
According to multiple local sources, UNO Ariful Islam previously served as PS to the recently retired (compulsorily retired) Umme Salma Tanzia, Divisional Commissioner of Mymensingh. But UNO Ariful Islam has faced criticism from various quarters of society for being the president of the Upazila Press Club and refraining from publishing any factual news in the media, including irregularities and corruption in the Upazila Parishad.
They said that when a government official becomes the president of the press club, the corruption there goes beyond all limits, as is evident from the Fulbaria Upazila and Executive Officer Ariful Islam. Moreover, earlier, in collusion with the Upazila administration and 2-4 alleged fascist journalists, they looted agricultural equipment worth 24 crore taka from the Upazila Agriculture Office in the fiscal year 2022-23. They hired people with money and made them look like farmers and took fake pictures of distributing agricultural products. The Upazila administration, with the help of the Agriculture Office, forged the ID cards and signatures of the farmers and divided up the agricultural equipment worth crores of taka. The embezzled agricultural equipment was sold to Bhaluka Bismillah Motors through an employee of the Agriculture Office (all documents preserved).
In addition, Ariful Islam embezzled a total of 1.4 million taka from 13 unions, each worth 0.8 million taka, from the TR, Kabita, and Kabikha projects of Phulbaria upazila in this fiscal year through project officer and office assistant A. Karim. Local conscious circles have demanded that necessary legal and departmental action be taken against UNO Ariful Islam and Radhakanai UP Chairman Golam Kibria Shimul for embezzling 1.4 million taka, subject to an impartial investigation.
It is worth mentioning that last year, when a group of farmers and local citizens protested against the corruption of the upazila administration and wanted to form a human chain in the upazila parishad premises, the human chain was thwarted due to administrative and political pressure and deep conspiracy. This created extreme public anger. The locals demanded strict punishment subject to an impartial and proper investigation of the allegations.
