Gopalganj, Dec 18, (V7N) - A contractor has accused the Assistant Commissioner (Land) of Kotalipara Upazila, Pratik Dutta, of slapping him. Following the incident, local residents staged a protest demanding punishment for the Assistant Commissioner on Wednesday morning.

The incident occurred on Tuesday afternoon in the Jamila village of Kushla Union, located within the upazila. Eyewitnesses reported that work was ongoing for a bridge construction project by the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) on the Majhbari-Radhaganj road. At one point, there was an argument between Pratik Dutta and contractor Abdus Samad over the removal of earth from a canal. In the heat of the argument, Assistant Commissioner Dutta allegedly slapped Samad.

At the time, the Upazila Executive Engineer Shafiul Azam, Assistant Engineer Monjurul Haque, along with about 50 other people, including construction workers, were present. When locals became agitated, Dutta reportedly left the scene in haste.

Laborer Abul Bashar explained, "During the bridge construction, we had placed the road soil by the canal. Now that the bridge work is complete, we were using an excavator to lift the earth from the canal for the approach road. At that point, the Assistant Commissioner arrived and scolded contractor Samad over the earth removal. After a brief argument, he slapped Samad, causing him to fall and injure his toe."

Hannan Sheikh, a local from Jamila village, condemned Dutta’s actions, saying, “What the Assistant Commissioner did was truly disgraceful. We demand strict punishment for him.”

Contractor Abdus Samad, however, declined to comment on the incident when asked, stating that an agreement had been made between his father-in-law, Yunus Sharif, and the administration to resolve the matter. "I am in no position to speak further on this," he said.

Yunus Sharif, Samad’s father-in-law, confirmed that Dutta had apologized to him for the incident on Tuesday night and that the issue had been resolved.

In response to the allegations, Assistant Commissioner Pratik Dutta denied the claim of slapping. "There was a disagreement with contractor Abdus Samad, but I did not slap him. The matter has been settled," he said.

Upazila Executive Officer (UNO) Shahinur Akhter said, "I am not aware of this matter. I have not received any formal complaint. If I do, appropriate action will be taken."

The incident has sparked controversy, drawing attention to the actions of local government officials and raising questions about accountability.

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