The revelation that the wife of a union parishad chairman in Kushtia was enlisted for the government鈥檚 Vulnerable Women Benefit Programme sparked outrage.
The incident happened in Ambaria union of Mirpur upazila of the district.
According to the finalised list for the 2025鈥�26 fiscal year, Mosammat Anjuman Ara, wife of Ambaria UP chairman Saifuddin Mukul, was listed at Serial 60 among 97 selected recipients.
Under the programme, 30 kilograms of free rice per month is given to the underprivileged women selected based on socio-economic assessments and verification.
Chairman Mukul is widely known in the community as wealthy, residing in a two-storey building and reportedly having relatives abroad.
Local resident Md Bakul Ali filed a complaint with the upazila nirbahi officer in this connection on August 24.
Bakul in his complaint alleged that several women, including those of the union council members鈥� wives and political affiliates, were enlisted as beneficiaries of the programme although they were ineligible as per the programme鈥檚 criteria.
The complaint further claimed that some even paid Tk 5,000 鈥� Tk 10,000 bribes to get their way into the list.
Bakul in his written complaint also mentioned the names of Mosammat Nurunnahar Begum, wife of UP member Sohel Rana (Serial 83), Zarina Khatun, wife of UP member Dawood Ali (Serial 36), Mosammat Sundari Akhter, wife of Mosharraf Hossain (Serial 42), Moyna Khatun and Amena Khatun with links to politically influential people.
Ambaria UP chairman Saifuddin Mukul, however, denied the allegations.
鈥楽omeone may have applied using her name without my knowledge, possibly to malign me. Mistakes can happen during verification also,鈥� he said.
Official records, however, show that Mukul served as the president of the women selection committee, which was responsible for verifying and approving the final list.
In response to the allegations, upazila nirbahi officer M Nazmul Islam said that a three-member investigation committee led by the upazila women鈥檚 affairs officer was formed to probe the incident.
鈥楾he committee has been asked to submit its report within five working days,鈥� the UNO said.
This year in Ambaria union, 187 women had applied for enlistment into the Vulnerable Women Benefit Programme, designed to support women in extreme poverty with monthly food assistance, while 97 were selected.