Three Joypurhat Food Officials Suspended Over Alleged Flour Misappropriation

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Authorities in Joypurhat’s Kalai upazila have suspended three senior food department officials following allegations of misappropriating flour allocated for a subsidized government sales program. The disciplinary action against upazila food controller Humayun Ahmed, food inspector Mahmudunnabi Sarkar, and assistant sub-food inspector Abdul Momin was enacted on Wednesday, following the emergence of a viral video that exposed systematic irregularities in the Open Market Sale (OMS) distribution.

The controversy centers on the daily allocation of flour and rice designated for the upazila under a special OMS initiative. According to local residents, the distribution center was allocated two tons of flour—equivalent to 40 sacks—each day. However, beneficiaries reported that only 20 sacks were consistently made available for sale, leaving the remaining supply unaccounted for. While the Sadia Flour Mills in Joypurhat confirmed that the full 40-sack daily quota was delivered to the site, residents alleged that this pattern of undersupply had been occurring since the program’s inception.

Public scrutiny intensified after a secretly recorded video surfaced on social media showing Humayun Ahmed responding dismissively to journalists’ inquiries regarding the missing inventory. In the recording, the official suggested that the allocation should be divided among “brothers” rather than strictly accounted for, and threatened to halt the distribution program entirely if questioned further.

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Following the backlash, district authorities formed a three-member committee on Tuesday to investigate the irregularities, initially requesting a report within 24 hours. While that report remains pending, the three officials involved were formally suspended and subsequently withdrawn from their duties in Kalai on Thursday.

District Food Controller Shakil Ahmed confirmed the suspensions and stated that further departmental proceedings would follow once the investigation is finalized. Despite multiple attempts to reach Humayun Ahmed for comment, he remained unavailable at his office and did not respond to telephone calls.