Youth and sports ministry officials are left frustrated for what they
said was "continuous misbehavior" by Deputy Minister Arif Khan Joy.
They alleged Joy had ransacked the room of a joint secretary of his
ministry on Sunday as his name was not included in the banner as a guest
at a national youth day programme.
Joy lost his temper during the programme at the capital's Osmani
Memorial Auditorium when he saw the name of State Minister for Youth and
Sports Biren Sikder was written on the banner as chief guest, according
to ministry officials and eyewitnesses.
Leaving the programme, he then returned to the ministry and ransacked
Joint Secretary Masukh Miah's room. He also shouted at a few officials,
they said.
Talking to several officials and staffs of the ministry, The Daily
Star yesterday learnt that Sunday's incident was not the first time they
were at the receiving end of Joy's wrath.
At least three officials of the ministry, two of them directors of
two projects with the rank of deputy secretaries, took transfer orders
to other ministries in the last few months for Joy's "misbehaviour".
Mashuk Mia and a few other officials, too, are now trying to get transferred to other ministries, officials said.
Asked about Joy's "misbehaviour", Sports Secretary Nur Mohammad
yesterday said, "Misunderstandings happen when two people work together
and those can be resolved at times."
Reflecting on Sunday's incident, he said, “The deputy ministry got
angry as his name was not in the banner of the national youth day
programme at Osmani Memorial Auditorium.
“As the prime minister did not come to the programme, the state
minister was the chief guest. The deputy minister asked some officials
as to why his name was not in the banner. Being angry, he tried to leave
the programme venue a few times. But we tried to manage him.
At one stage he came out of the auditorium and came back to the
ministry. Later we heard that he vandalised the room of a joint
secretary. It was shameful for us.”
The secretary said he had immediately informed the matter to his
higher authorities including the cabinet secretary and the principal
secretary to the prime minister's office. Asked whether he got any
response from them, he said he was yet to get any official instruction
to this effect.
There is also allegation that during a tour to the 65th congress of
FIFA at Zurich in Switzerland in May this year he led a five-member
delegation but left one of them behind illegally.
Joy included Shelim Uddin by introducing him as the delegation
coordinator and a member of Bianibazar Sporting Club. As Shelim did not
come back, rumour has it that he was left behind illegally, ministry
sources said adding that this incident has badly tarnished the image of
the ministry as well as the country.
Swiss embassy granted Shelim visa with the condition that Shelim
would have to report to the embassy before June 9. As Shelim did not do
so, the embassy wrote to the foreign ministry twice to look into the
matter seriously. The foreign ministry wrote to the sports ministry but
could not elicit any satisfactory response, ministry sources said.
Shelim was neither a member of Bianibazar Sporting Club nor a coordinator of the delegation, they said.
Foreign and sports ministry officials handed this correspondent all
the relevant documents that demonstrate that the claims made by the
Swiss embassy are true.
The Daily Star went to the deputy minister's office to have his
comments over the allegations, but he did not come to office yesterday.
This correspondent called him more than 10 times on his two cell phone
numbers, but failed to reach him. Finally, a text message was sent to
him, which too was not replied by the deputy minister.
Joy, however, told reporters on Sunday, that he had no involvement
with the joint secretary's room vandalism. Some people had broken the
joint secretary's computer and were spreading rumours to taint his
image, he claimed.
He also alleged that none in the ministry, including a few joint
secretaries, helped him. Terming the officials corrupt, he alleged that
bribes were paid for the appointment and transfer of officials in the
different organisations and departments under the ministry.
Joy, however, told The Daily Star earlier that he had been sidelined
in the ministry from the very beginning. He said most of the files were
not sent to him and the state minister and the secretary signed them
keeping him in the dark.
