Army detains Jubo Dal leader for 'obstructing' tender submission in Lalmonirhat

Army personnel have detained a local Jubo Dal leader on charges of creating chaos during tender submission for Lalmonirhat Sadar Hospital.

The detainee is Jahangir Alam Julhas, 40, convenor of Lalmonirhat Municipal unit Jubo Dal and the senior vice-president of the Lalmonirhat District Jubo Dal.

He was detained from the hospital premises this noon (30 October), said Tariqul Islam, superintendent of Lalmonirhat Police.

Later, the army officials handed him over to the police.

Locals said tenders were invited by Abdul Mokaddem, the supervisor of the hospital, in three categories for supplying equipment for the 250-bed Lalmonirhat Sadar Hospital.

A tender box was set up in front of the hospital's superintendent's office for submissions from 9am-12pm on Wednesday.

Security was tightened on the hospital premises to prevent any incident during the submission of hospital tenders but the Jubo Dal leader along with his associates obstructed other bidders from submitting their tenders since the morning in an effort to bypass police security and favoured a preferred contractor.

During this time, he also assaulted the officials accepting the tenders.

Later, army personnel rushed to the spot after receiving a call from one of the bidders and detained him.

Once the situation was brought under control, 24 bidders were able to submit their bids.

Legal action will be taken against the Juba Dal leader, the SP added .

Anisur Rahman Anis,  president of Lalmonirhat District Jubo Dal, said Jahangir Alam did not obstruct any contractors from submitting tenders. In fact, he was detained while attempting to flee at that moment. "This isn't a significant issue and can be resolved through discussion," he noted.