Published : 10 Oct 2026, 05:41 PM
Updated : 10 Oct 2026, 05:41 PM
The recruitment exam for assistant Upazila youth development officers under the Department of Youth Development has been postponed following allegations of a question paper leak, prompting protests and a road blockade in Dhaka.
Candidates demonstrated in Mirpur, Manik Mia Avenue, Nilkhet and Motijheel after the postponement was announced on Saturday.
The exam for 242 posts in the 11th pay grade was scheduled to take place at nearly 100 centres across the capital. Allegations that the question paper had been leaked began circulating on social media on Friday night.
Many candidates arrived at their examination centres on Saturday morning only to learn that the test had been postponed. They subsequently staged protests outside several venues.
Md Mazharul Haque, assistant director (Administration-5) at the Department of Youth Development, said he was at an examination centre when he received a message from senior officials.
"I was at an exam centre myself. Later, I received a message from the higher authorities saying, 'The examination has been postponed due to unavoidable reasons.' We are acting accordingly," he said.
Protests broke out near Bangla College in Mirpur, the Aarong intersection on Manik Mia Avenue and Nilkhet intersection.
A group of candidates later gathered outside the department's headquarters in Dilkusha, Motijheel, with busloads of candidates arriving from Mirpur and other areas.
The demonstrations caused traffic congestion on several roads across the capital.
Rafiqul Islam, deputy commissioner of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police's Tejgaon Traffic Division, said candidates blocked Manik Mia Avenue at around 11:45am and cleared the road about an hour later.
