C T Online Desk: Sarwar Jahan Jewel Mymensingh : The finger is pointed at the social service officer who has been in the same chair for 9 years for the fraud of looting allowance money in Trishal!
Hundreds of helpless people of Trishal Upazila of Mymensingh were hoping to get government allowances. But their dream has now turned into a nightmare. A dishonest syndicate centered around the Upazila Social Service Office is secretly changing the mobile numbers of the beneficiaries. As a result, the money allocated for the real beneficiaries is going to the mobile banking accounts of others. Hundreds of victims are flocking to the Social Service Office every day as victims of this ‘digital pickpocketing’.
It has been alleged that some dishonest officials and employees of the social welfare office and a powerful group of local UP members have been carrying out this innovative fraud for a long time. First, a large sum of money is taken in the name of issuing allowance cards, and then the mobile number on the application form is cleverly changed to a number under their control.
The finger is pointed at Upazila Social Service Officer Mahmudul Hasan himself, who is behind this entire syndicate. Investigations revealed that Mahmudul Hasan joined Trishal Upazila Social Service Officer on July 26, 2017. He has been ruling the same workplace in bad health for almost 9 years, ignoring government rules and regulations. Locals allege that during the previous Awami League government, he used to show great dominance in the area by introducing himself as a ‘close relative’ of former Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Haque. Although he used to engage in irregularities and corruption by using the minister’s influence, no one dared to speak out against him. Despite the political changes, this officer is still in good health thanks to an invisible pillar.
Fazila Khatun, a resident of Kakchar village in Rampur Union, recently filed a written complaint with the Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) depicting a brutal picture of this fraud.
According to the complaint, in 2024, Fazila Khatun applied for her disabled son’s allowance using her mobile number. But in 2026, she came to know that her son’s allowance money was regularly being transferred to the mobile banking account of a mysterious woman named Roksana Khatun of the neighboring Mokshapur Union! When contacted, that number was found to be disconnected. Fazila Khatun claims that the current number does not even remotely match the original number on the application form.
He approached Habib, an employee of the social services office, several times but did not get any solution. On the contrary, he alleged that local UP member Shahjahan Murad took a bribe of 6,000 taka from him in the name of giving him an allowance card.
Sumon Mia, son of Fazila Khatun, who lost her hand and was paralyzed after being hit by a hornfish sting, said in a tearful voice:
“A few years ago, while fishing, I was injured by a horn fish’s spine and my hand rotted. Doctors told me to amputate it. I have elderly parents, a wife, and three daughters at home. There is no one to earn money except me. I got a card from a member for 6,000 taka, but I haven’t seen a single penny. Now, with this one hand, I am working as a low-paid elevator operator in a private company in Fatulla, Narayanganj.”
