The government on Wednesday transferred joint secretary AKM Anisur Rahman, the elder son of 75-year-old Noor Jahan Begum whose decomposed body was found at Mirpur in the capital Dhaka, from the Mongla Port Authority and attached him to the public administration ministry.
The elderly woman reportedly faced serious neglect from her four children, all of whom are highly educated and well-established professionals.
A writ petition was also filed on the day with the High Court seeking directives for the government to introduce a social security programme providing trained caregivers and nurses for elderly and infirm citizens aged 65 and above.
The petition was filed by Supreme Court lawyer Md Sharif Sarker following the recovery of the decomposed body of Noor Jahan Begum from her daughter’s flat at Mirpur on May 31, the petitioner’s lawyer, HM Shanjid Siddique, told New Age.
According to a notification issued by the public administration ministry on Wednesday, Mongla Port Authority member (joint secretary) AKM Anisur Rahman has been posted as joint secretary (attached) at the ministry.
The order directed him to be released from his current workplace and join his new post by today.
If he fails to join by the deadline, he will be deemed to have been automatically released from his present position on the afternoon of June 4, according to the notification.
The government move came after state minister for public administration Md Abdul Bari told journalists at his secretariat office on Wednesday that proceedings would be initiated against Anisur Rahman under the Parents Maintenance Act, 2013.
He said that the government would follow due process, including seeking his explanation before taking further action.
Lawyer Shanjid said that he would try to move the petition for hearing before a High Court bench led by Justice Fatema Najib next week.
According to the police, Noor Jahan Begum was the mother of three highly educated sons and one daughter.
Her eldest son, AKM Anisur Rahman, is a joint secretary. Her second son, AKM Ashiqur Rahman, is a professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology. Her third son, M Atiqur Rahman, resides in Canada. Her daughter, Fatima Nasrin Sultana, is a teacher at a school at Mirpur.
Noor Jahan Begum had been living with her daughter in a flat on the fourth floor of a five-storey building at Mirpur in the capital.
Pallabi police station officer-in-charge Md Hasan Basir said that they recovered the body after receiving a call on the national emergency hotline — 999.
In the petition, the lawyer argued that the circumstances surrounding the woman’s death reflected a failure to ensure adequate care and protection for elderly citizens and raised concerns about possible neglect.
The petitioner sought a High Court rule asking the authorities to explain why the failure of the social welfare ministry and the Department of Social Services to appoint, train and engage caregivers for elderly and infirm citizens should not be declared unlawful.
The petition also sought a directive for the police authorities to conduct an inquiry and initiate criminal proceedings if evidence of negligence causing the woman’s death is found.
As interim measures, the petitioner requested the court to order the law ministry to form a three-member inquiry committee, headed by a judicial officer not below the rank of a first-class magistrate, to investigate the cause of Noor Jahan Begum’s death.
The petitioner further prayed for a direction to the National Human Rights Commission to conduct an independent inquiry into whether the deceased’s constitutional and human rights were violated before her death, and to submit its report to the court within seven days.
BUET administrative officer Saikat Barua said, ‘I am not authorised to speak on this matter.’
