The government suspended 12 public representatives, including three Union Parishad chairmen and nine members, over the embezzlement of government relief amid the coronavirus crisis.
The Local Government Department issued separate orders on Sunday suspending the local representatives.
The total number of suspended public representatives jumped to 24, including 8 chairmen and 16 members.
The suspended chairmen are Makhdum Kabir Tanmoy in Niyamatpur Union, Kishoreganj, Abdus Sattar in Arjunpur Baramhati Union in Natore and Mira Golam Hafiz Shohag in Majhihatta Union in Bogura.
UP members Md Reza, Md Zakir Hossain, Md Rokonuzzaman and Md Abdur Rab Patwary were suspended for irregularities in relief distribution.
The government also suspended UP members Sheikh Mosharraf Hossain, Rony Begum, Rafiqul Islam, Al-Amin Chowdhury and Asia Khatun.
The public representatives were accused of embezzling rice, manhandling the poor relief seekers, disobeying a government order to stay in their constituencies and skipping monthly meetings.
Some of them are already behind bars and the charges against some have been proved, the government said.
The government also issued a notice against the suspended representatives asking why they will not be permanently sacked from their posts. They were asked to respond in 10 days, reports bdnews24.com.
