The Election Commission has made the deputy commissioner of Natore On Special Duty (OSD) after a female officer in the district administration raised sexual harassment allegations against him.
A circular issued by the Public Administration Ministry on Monday made Deputy Commissioner and District Magistrate Golamur Rahman and replaced him with Power Division Deputy Secretary Shahriaz.
The move follows a written sexual harassment allegation submitted to the ministry by a female officer in the Natore district administration.
The officer in her letter, submitted on October 24, said she had been working in that district since 2017. Golamur Rahman became Natore DC on October 9.
She said Golamur had transferred her to another department immediately after taking up the post. He also asked her to take official documents and meet him at the circuit house where he lived alone.
Three days after joining, the female officer alleged, Golamur connected with her on Facebook Messenger and sent her frequent messages. Often he sent the messages at late hours, seeking explanations from her the next morning if she did not reply.
On October 15 he made grossly inappropriate proposals to the female officer.
The Dhaka Tribune has received what appear to be screenshots of messages between the officer and Golamur Rahman. The messages attest to the allegations made by the officer. However, the Dhaka Tribune has not been able to verify the authenticity of these screenshots.
On October 22 the Public Administration Ministry transferred the female officer to another district. Golamur also tried to interfere with this transfer.
