Guilt, honesty drives ex-B’desh govt employee to clear his railway dues
A Bangladeshi government employee who travelled without a ticket several times on trains between Dhaka, Chattogram and Sylhet recently paid up all dues after retiring.
Emdadul Haque, 61, showed up at Brahmanbaria Railway Station at about 12.30pm on Monday to pay for all the train trips he had taken without a ticket while on duty.
The father of three worked as a constable at the Anti-Corruption Commission and retired in December last year.
During his years in service, Haque sometimes travelled without a ticket because he could not afford to pay. However, he kept all records and eventually paid up.
“There is no other way to repay this debt. So I deposited the money directly into the railway. I don’t know if I will be free from the liability, but I will get peace of mind,” Haque told the Daily Star.
The story went viral on social media after the incident was mentioned on the Facebook page “The Train”.
Didar Mollah, a booking assistant at the station, said: “Emdadul travelled several times without a ticket during his time as a service holder. But he had been suffering from remorse since he retired.
“That’s why he contacted the railway himself. To get rid of the debt, today he paid his dues by buying a ticket worth 2,530 taka.”
The station master Rafiqul Islam said Haque was the epitome of honesty.
Masuk Hridoy
The Daily Star
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