Pabna district administration officials have been accused of sharing among themselves the lamb meat allocated for poor and orphaned children from Saudi Arabia. Some employees of the district administration were caught red-handed by journalists while distributing the meat at the Pabna Circuit House on Saturday (November 1) afternoon.

According to eyewitnesses, some employees of the district administration were sitting in the circuit house and distributing the meat allocated for the orphanage and madrasa among themselves. When journalists arrived at the scene, the accused quickly left the place, leaving the meat behind.

Sources said that 16 cartons of about 320 kg of lamb meat sent from Saudi Arabia arrived in Pabna by truck on Friday night. Although the meat was supposed to be distributed to orphanages and madrasas through upazila project implementation officers, there are allegations that the officials have embezzled a large portion of it.

Incidentally, every year during the Hajj season, the meat of animals sacrificed in Saudi Arabia is distributed to poor Muslims around the world through the Islamic Development Bank. In Bangladesh, this allocation of meat is also mainly given to orphanages, madrasas, and poor families.

Attempts were made to contact Deputy Commissioner Mofizul Islam regarding the incident, but he could not be reached. Additional Deputy Commissioner Jahangir Hossain said he is currently in Dhaka and is not aware of the incident.