The government has decided to suspend 14 employees from different ministries and divisions who were arrested following protests at the Secretariat demanding a special allowance.

The employees are currently on a five-day remand in a case filed under the Anti-Terrorism Act.

The Ministry of Public Administration has already suspended three employees — Badiul Kabir, Kamal Hossain and Md Alimuzzaman — ministry sources confirmed to The Daily Star.

Badiul Kabir is the president of the Bangladesh Secretariat Officers and Employees United Council.

A senior official of the ministry said today that the decision to suspend the 14 employees was taken after receiving a report from the Ministry of Home Affairs.

“We have already suspended three employees under the Ministry of Public Administration. Letters have been sent to other ministries instructing them to take similar action against employees under their jurisdiction,” the official said.

On December 10 and 11, hundreds of Secretariat employees staged protests demanding a special allowance. On the first day, the finance adviser remained confined inside the Secretariat for nearly six hours, from noon until around 8:30pm.

As protests continued into the second day, the government filed the case under the Anti-Terrorism Act, leading to the arrests.

Those placed on remand include Shaheen Golam Rabbani and Nazrul Islam, vice-presidents of the united council; Roman Gazi, an administrative officer at the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare; Abu Belal, an office assistant at the same ministry; Md Taiful Islam, personal officer to an additional secretary of the health ministry; Bipul Rana Biplob, an office assistant at the Ministry of Finance; Bikash Chandra Roy, an administrative officer at the health ministry; health ministry employees Islamul Haque and Md Mohsin Ali; Mizanur Rahman Sumon, an office assistant at the Ministry of Information and publicity secretary of the united council; and Nasirul Haque, an office assistant at the Cabinet Division.