AL leader blamed for embezzling school fund

A local Awami League leader allegedly embezzled the money obtained from selling at least 20 trees including mahogany and rain trees of Douhakhola High School in Gouripur upazila of the district.

Douhakhola union AL president Md Kazim Uddin, also former president of the school managing committee, felled the trees worth about Tk 3 lakh on March 22 and later sold out them to local traders without any meeting with the schoolteachers.

Kazim held the president post for two years and his tenure expired on May 1 this year, school sources said.

As his tenure as school managing committee president expired last month, the committee repeatedly asked  Kazim Uddin to deposit the money with the school fund but it is yet to be deposited, said Naruttom Roy, headmaster of the school.

"I informed the upazila secondary education officer about the matter last month but no action has been taken in this regard," he said.

Shahidul Islam Sarker, newly elected chairman of Douhakhola Union Parishad, demanded neutral investigation into the incident.

Contacted, Kazim Uddin said to make school benches, a three-member committee was formed then and the work was done accordingly from the trees.

"During my tenure, the schoolteachers did not raise any question regarding cutting down of the trees but they are now raising baseless allegations against me to tarnish my image in the locality."