Sylhet Deputy Commissioner (DC) Md. Sarwar Alam left the district on Monday night, a day after the Ministry of Public Administration issued an order withdrawing him from his post. Until a new DC is appointed, Additional District Magistrate Pinky Saha will serve as acting deputy commissioner, confirmed Additional Deputy Commissioner (General) Saeeda Parveen.

The withdrawal order came amid controversy over the sealing of donation boxes and cauldrons at the shrine of Hazrat Shahjalal (R). The ministry’s directive reassigned Sarwar Alam as a deputy secretary at the ministry but did not specify the reason for his removal. Following the order, the district administration on Monday conducted a public counting of donations from three cauldrons and one box, collecting Tk 17,65,559 in cash and seven annas of gold, which will be deposited in a newly opened Sonali Bank account under the shrine’s name.

The administration’s earlier decision to seal the cauldrons and install its own donation box had sparked discontent among shrine-related individuals, who criticized the move as interference in internal affairs. The withdrawal of the DC has since become a widely discussed issue in Sylhet.