A formal complaint has been lodged against a local Jamaat-e-Islami leader in Morelganj Upazila under Bagerhat district over allegations of misappropriating government allowances allocated for mosque staff. The accused, Maulana Nazir Ahmed, who serves as the Amir of the Putikhali Union unit of Jamaat-e-Islami, faces claims that he withdrew government financial support meant for an imam, a muezzin, and a khadem, despite the mosque not holding regular congregational prayers.
The matter came to light after Abdur Rob Howlader, a former muezzin of the mosque, submitted a written complaint directly to the Morelganj Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNOC).
According to the written allegation, daily five-time prayers have not been regularly conducted for a prolonged period at the Putikhali Baitun Aman Jame Mosque in North Putikhali village. Local residents report that an interim imam is brought in solely to lead Friday afternoon prayers, while a local resident occasionally gives the call to prayer (azan) during the rest of the week. Despite the absence of full-time staff and regular daily services, state allowances designated for the mosque’s official imam, muezzin, and khadem continue to be drawn from local administration funds.
Local residents and devotees connected with the institution expressed strong concern over the matter. They have urged upazila authorities to intervene immediately to ensure that state financial aid is distributed transparently to legitimate recipients, whilst also calling for measures to restore regular daily worship at the mosque.
Maulana Nazir Ahmed has refuted all allegations, dismissing them as politically motivated. He maintained that he serves as the regular Khatib of the mosque, leading prayers himself, and insisted that a designated imam and muezzin are currently active. He clarified that only a single government incentive payment of 5,000 taka had been drawn to date, denying any fraudulent withdrawal of routine allowances. He claimed that political rivals fabricated the allegations to tarnish his reputation in the area.
Commenting on the issue, Morelganj Upazila Nirbahi Officer Habibullah acknowledged receiving the petition, noting that similar complaints regarding the distribution of government mosque allowances have surfaced across several other institutions in the upazila. He stated that an official monitoring committee exists to handle such grievances. The committee will convene shortly to investigate all formal allegations, and appropriate administrative or legal action will follow based on their findings.
