After his mother’s death, a family repeatedly faced bribe demands while trying to collect her government pension. Seventeen-year-old Shahed Sharif Ahmed faced the same experience getting his own passport made. To protest this culture of bribery across government offices, he built a website called “ghush.site” (bribe.site).
After a report on the story behind Shahed’s website was published, two staff members at the Mymensingh Sadar upazila primary education officer’s office have been issued show-cause notices.
The two who received notices are accounts assistant A H M Nadirul Hasan (Sabuj) and office assistant-cum-computer operator Mojibur Rahman.
Mymensingh Sadar Upazila Primary Education Officer Monika Parveen issued the notices to them Monday afternoon.
She said the two have been asked to explain in writing how the situation arose, with a response required within three working days.
After a report titled “Bribe demand for pension after mother’s death, teenager Shahed’s angry ‘ghush.site’” was published, Shariful Islam (Shamim) — Shahed’s father and husband of the late teacher Amina Khatun — was called to the upazila primary education office. He arrived around 11 a.m. and remained there until 6 p.m.
Shariful Islam said: “Things have moved very quickly since the report was published. They’re revising the earlier paperwork and preparing new documents. It will take a bit more time. I’m hoping we’ll get what we’re owed soon.”
Shahed Sharif Ahmed lives with his father in a rented home in the Mymensingh Cantonment area. He is studying for his A-Levels under Cambridge International through the British Council. His father, Shariful Islam (Shamim), previously worked at a bank in Saudi Arabia. Shahed’s ancestral home is in the Purbapara area of Kotiadi upazila, Kishoreganj.
His mother, Amina Khatun, was a teacher at Azmatpur Government Primary School in Mymensingh Sadar upazila. She died of illness on December 16, 2022.
The family alleges that after Amina Khatun died — 13 years into her career — they had to pay bribes at several offices to withdraw roughly 700,000 taka from her provident fund, including 10,000 taka at the treasury office, 20,000 taka at the district education office and 8,000 taka at the upazila primary education officer’s office, totaling 38,000 taka in bribes, the family says.
The family also alleges that people connected to the education office demanded a 100,000-taka bribe to release 200,000 taka from the welfare fund and 800,000 taka owed from the public administration ministry.
Family members say it was anger over these bribe demands for money owed to them by the government that led Shahed to launch an awareness campaign against bribery across levels of the administration — building the “ghush.site” website as part of that effort.