Following an incident in which Finance Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed was confined inside his office during a protest over the demand for a “Secretariat allowance,” 14 government officials and employees who were later arrested have been placed under temporary suspension.

The suspended individuals are non-cadre officials and staff members serving in various ministries and divisions at the Bangladesh Secretariat. Separate suspension orders were issued by the respective ministries on Monday.

Among those suspended, four are from the Ministry of Public Administration. They include Md Badiul Kabir, a factional president of the Bangladesh Secretariat Officers and Employees United Council, along with office assistants Md Kamal Hossain, Md Alimuzzaman, and Md Nazrul Islam.

Seven officials and employees from two divisions under the Ministry of Health have also been suspended. They are administrative officers Roman Gazi, Shaheen Golam Rabbani, and Bikash Chandra Roy; office assistant Md Abul Belal; and personal officers Md Taiful Islam, Islamul Haque, and Md Mohsin Ali.

In addition, office assistant Md Mizanur Rahman from the Ministry of Information, Md Nasimul Haque from the Cabinet Division, and Bipul Rana Biplob from the Ministry of Finance have been temporarily suspended.

Non-cadre officials and staff working at the Secretariat had been staging protests under the leadership of a section of the Bangladesh Secretariat Officers and Employees United Council, demanding a 20 percent “Secretariat allowance” for all Secretariat employees.

As part of the movement, protesters confined the finance adviser inside his office for several hours on December 10. When demonstrations resumed the following day, law enforcement agencies detained the protest leaders. They were later formally arrested under the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2009.