The General Manager (GM) of Magura Palli Bidyut Samiti has been suspended over allegations of preparing a ghost electricity bill of Tk 506,83,11,593 against a usage of just 235 units. Following the incident, Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Iqbal Hasan Mahmud personally called the affected subscriber to express his regret.
The unusual incident recently occurred regarding an electricity meter registered under the name of Mst. Aleya Khatun, wife of retired teacher Shahidul Islam and a resident of Kechuadubi village in Maghi Union under Magura Sadar Upazila. The bill for September 2026 was issued to Aleya Khatun, a subscriber under the ‘LT-A (Residential)’ category, by the Arpara Zonal Office of Magura Palli Bidyut Samiti.
According to the details on the bill, the previous meter reading was 160 on August 8, and the current reading reached 395 on September 8, indicating that the subscriber had used a total of 235 units of electricity in one month.
However, against the usage of 235 units, the bill bizarrely included a demand charge of Tk 482,69,63,422. Adding Tk 24,13,48,171 as VAT and a Tk 10 meter rent to this, the total bill amounted to Tk 506,83,11,593.
According to documents, if the bill was not paid within the due date, the total amount including late payment fees was set to reach Tk 530,96,59,764, whereas the actual bill for using 235 units of electricity was only Tk 1,963 (Tk 2,056 with late fee).
The absurd bill—issued on September 10 with September 29 set as the payment deadline—sparked intense widespread discussion and uproar across social media platforms before coming to the attention of the authorities.
Upon learning of the incident, the General Manager in charge of the Palli Bidyut Samiti was suspended, and Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Iqbal Hasan Mahmud personally contacted the affected subscriber over the phone to apologize.
