Election Commission suspends officer over national identity data leak risk

The Bangladesh Election Commission has suspended Md. A. Chattar, Upazila Election Officer (promoted) of Kathalia in Jhalokathi district, after an inquiry found he used his CMS user ID to pull national identity data through a web platform. The order, issued under rule 12(1) of the Government Servants (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 2018, is published in the Bangladesh Gazette of 24 September 2026 under reference 17.00.0000.083.27.0071.26-660, and is dated 27 August 2026.

The decision was taken by the Election Commission Secretariat, the body that runs the country’s electoral administration and also hosts the National Identity Registration Wing. According to the gazette, the officer’s conduct was established in an investigation carried out by that wing, which concluded that the manner in which the data was pulled created a risk that miscreants could obtain any citizen’s NID PDF and leak it through any online medium.

The Commission treated the matter as a serious breach of official duty rather than a technical lapse. It recorded that the gravity and nature of the offence made it necessary and expedient, in the public interest, to keep the officer away from government service.

What the inquiry established

• Officer concerned: Md. A. Chattar, Upazila Election Officer (promoted), Kathalia, Jhalokathi.
• Access route used: his own CMS user ID, recorded in the gazette as “assttar up”.
• Action performed: an “NID Information Pull” executed through a web platform.
• Finding: any citizen’s NID PDF could be collected and leaked through any online medium.
• Investigating body: the National Identity Registration Wing of the Election Commission Secretariat.

The gazette identifies the access route precisely: the officer’s own CMS credentials and a web platform through which the identity pull was carried out. No figure is given for the number of identity records involved, and no affected citizen is named in the order.

The suspension order

The order was issued under rule 12(1) of the Government Servants (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 2018, the provision used to keep a public servant away from service pending disciplinary action. It takes effect immediately and is issued by order of the President, signed by Akhtar Ahmed, Senior Assistant Secretary.

The same issue of the gazette carries other personnel orders from the Election Commission Secretariat, including one disposing of a departmental case against Ehsanul Kabir Ferdous, Thana Election Officer, Uttara, Dhaka, who was granted exemption from the charge with effect from 24 September 2025.

Why it matters

The case places the national identity database squarely inside the electoral administration, where a single official login can open access to citizens’ identity records. The Commission’s response — immediate removal from duty under the disciplinary rules — signals that misuse of identity data is being handled as a punishable offence rather than an internal warning.

Source: The Bangladesh Gazette, No. 39 of 2026, 24 September 2026, Part I, p. 830 (official reference: 17.00.0000.083.27.0071.26-660).