'Dishonest Officer' poem triggers false charges, but locomotive master wins acquittal after legal battle

Abul Kalam Azad, a locomotive master at Bangladesh Railway's West Zone, has been acquitted of charges accusing him of stealing 30 litres of oil. The accusations stemmed from his protest against workplace injustice, which included writing a poem titled "Dishonest Officer."

The false claims led to six penalties, including a temporary suspension, but after a year-and-a-half-long legal battle, the Administrative Tribunal cleared him of all charges.

Azad, from Charghat upazila in Rajshahi, was accused of stealing the oil on 3 August 2022, while operating an oil-carrying train at the Khulna locoshed.

The allegation came after security personnel Gautam Kumar and on-duty guard Biswajit Kumar reported seeing a sack-like object fall from the train's engine as it passed through Chengutia Station in Jashore, suggesting that oil had been stolen using the sack.

The following day, Azad was temporarily suspended, and a probe committee was formed. Based on the committee's report, the railway authorities imposed six penalties on 4 December 2022.

Photo: Collected

These included demotion from driver to assistant driver, a 121-day suspension, mandatory attendance at the divisional mechanical engineer's office in Pakshi twice daily during the suspension, withholding salary increases for four years, demotion from grade 13 to grade 16, and a transfer from Khulna locoshed to Parbatipur locoshed.

Golam Mostofa, head of the investigation committee and fuel-in-charge at Parbatipur locoshed, submitted the report to the Divisional Mechanical Engineer of Pakshi Ashish Kumar Mandal on 8 August 2022. The report claimed 30 litres of oil were missing from the locomotive Azad operated on that day.

The punishment caused severe personal difficulties for Azad. In December 2022, his mother passed away due to a lack of medical treatment. Financial struggles forced him to transfer his daughter from Bangladesh Noubahini School and College in Khulna to a private school, while his son, who was supposed to attend a good school, had to enrol in a Hafizia madrasa instead.

Despite these challenges, Azad filed a case in the Khulna Administrative Tribunal on 6 August 2023, claiming he was punished for "false allegations".

On 31 July 2024, the tribunal cleared him of all charges, finding no evidence that he stole oil. It determined that he had stored 16 litres of oil on the day in question and that the total amount stored in August 2022 was 30 litres. The court also stated that there was no direct evidence that he had thrown the oil away in a sack.

The court ruled that the accusation was fabricated, and the punishment was excessive. It also stated that, as a public servant, Azad should have received a second show-cause notice before being punished, which he had not.

The tribunal cancelled the 4 December 2022 order and declared it illegal, reinstating Azad to his original position and ordering that his salary, allowances, seniority, and benefits be paid within 90 days.

On 28 January 2025, Azad received a copy of the verdict and submitted it to the tribunal at Ishwardi locoshed on 30 January.

Azad told TBS that the accusation was made by security member Gautam Kumar and on-duty guard Biswajit Kumar, who were stationed in the last carriage during the guard's rest break.

Given the distance of nearly 1km from the last carriage to the front engine, it was impossible for them to have seen anything fall. The guard's report did not mention seeing any sack fall, as it should have if the incident had occurred.

Azad also pointed out discrepancies with the complaint, such as the train leaving the station half an hour earlier than stated, according to the railway's signal log.

Additionally, although Chengutia is a closed station where trains don't stop, a witness, farmer Mohammad Musa, testified that the train had stopped and bags were unloaded. Despite presenting these facts, Azad claimed his side was ignored.

Azad, who has published two poetry books, wrote "Dishonest Officer" on Facebook. A few months later, he faced the false charges. He filed the case to set an example, hoping no other employee would suffer similar injustice.

When contacted, DME Ashish Kumar Mandal said that he had not yet received a copy of the verdict. He said that once the verdict was submitted to Ishwardi locoshed, he would take the necessary actions as per the court's instructions.