Officials of the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday announced that they would go on strike if the chairman and three commissioners did not resign.
On behalf of the officials, BSEC executive director Md Mahbubul Alam announced the strike in a press conference at the BSEC office at Agargaon in the capital Dhaka.
Mahbubul said that if the commission did not resign by Wednesday, all the BSEC officials and employees will go on strike from today (Thursday).
The announcement came following their protest over forced retirement of BSEC executive director Md Saifur Rahman on Tuesday, among other issues.
After the political shift, the new commission led by chairman Khondoker Rashed Maqsood made Saifur Rahman an officer on special duty (OSD) starting September 2024.
The protesters confined the chairman and the three commissioners inside the BSEC building from 11:00am on Wednesday for about four hours, demanding answers to why the commission sent Saifur Rahman on forced retirement. The BSEC chairman and other commissioners left the BSEC building at about 3:30pm, guarded by members of law enforcement agencies.
Mahbubul Alam, however, in the press conference claimed that they did not confine the chairman and commissioners.
鈥榃e presented our demands before the commission, including withdrawal of Saifur Rahman鈥檚 forced retirement, retracting show causes over unnecessary issues, and maintaining official manner while in office,鈥� he said.
The commission chairman Khondoker Rashed Maqsood in a press statement said that the BSEC formed an investigation committee to probe irregularities in 12 listed companies, with seven reports submitted so far and charges being prepared against various institutions and officials.
Following multiple allegations, BSEC executive director Saifur Rahman was sent on retirement as per service rules, leading to such protests by a group of officials, he claimed.
