The government is set to make Teknaf Upazila executive officer or UNO Mohammad Kaisar Khosru an officer on special duty, or OSD, which is seen as a punishment in public service, for yelling abuse at a local journalist over a report.
Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam said more action will be taken against Khosru if the High Court orders so, reports bdnews24.com.
"There is one executive officer in each of the 500 Upazilas across the country. How do you expect that everyone of these 500 people is a good human being," Khandker said after a cabinet meeting on Monday.
As many as 27 homes built for homeless people under the Ashrayan Project next to the Naf River in Teknaf were recently waterlogged due to the tide and rains, causing misery to the residents.
The Dhaka Post ran a story about the situation, filed by its Cox’s Bazar Correspondent Saidul Islam Farhad on Jul 21. Later that night, the UNO called Farhad from his service phone number and hurled insults at him.
An audio recording of the conversation then spread on social media, drawing a storm of criticism.
The issue was also brought to the district administration’s attention and they summoned both sides for a meeting. The UNO apologised for the insults and asked for forgiveness.
A lawyer brought the matter to the High Court's attention. Justice Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice Khizir Hayat on Sunday asked what administrative action was taken against Khosru.