Md. Khairuzzaman Sajib, Special Correspondent, Dhaka

Officials of the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) have strongly rejected and condemned a report published on July 21 by the online edition of the Daily Inqilab, describing the allegations against the Mirpur BRTA office as false, misleading, and baseless.

In a protest statement, the officials said that most of the allegations made against Shafiquzzaman Bhuiyan, Divisional Director (Dhaka Division), and Md. Afzal Hossain, Motor Vehicle Inspector of BRTA Dhaka Metro Circle-1 (Mirpur), are untrue, unfounded, misleading, and motivated. They claimed that the report attempted to damage the personal and professional reputations of the officials by making corruption allegations without any credible evidence.

The statement said that all BRTA services are delivered in accordance with government-approved policies and through an online system. Applications are processed following the prescribed procedures, and applicants are informed if any application is incomplete or contains errors so that necessary corrections can be made. The officials described the allegations of deliberately delaying applications or demanding bribes in exchange for services as completely false.

The statement further noted that BRTA regularly conducts monitoring and takes necessary measures to maintain a broker-free environment at its offices. It added that if anyone provides specific evidence of irregularities or corruption, the authority will investigate the matter and take legal action in accordance with the law. However, publishing allegations without supporting evidence is contrary to the principles of responsible journalism, the statement said.

The BRTA officials called on the concerned media outlet to withdraw the misleading portions of the report and publish the correct information.

Protest submitted by:
Md. Afzal Hossain
Motor Vehicle Inspector
BRTA Dhaka Metro Circle-1, Mirpur, Dhaka