The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

Businessman Nazim Kamran Choudhury, husband of Industries Adviser Geeteara Safiya Choudhury, and eight others were sued by a woman yesterday on charges of occupying her house at Gulshan illegally and injuring her physically.

Farhana Islam, wife of Dr Mahbub-ul-Islam, filed the case with the court of Metropolitan Magistrate Hemayet Uddin.

Farhana also attached with the case documents a medical certificate as a "proof of physical assault."

It is alleged in the case that Nazim Kamran Choudhury, also a former BNP MP from Sylhet back in 1979-80 and presently associated with Liberal Democratic Party, had illegally been occupying Farhana and her husband Dr Mahbub-ul-Islam's six-storied residence at Holding No. 7/A, Road-41, Gulshan-2, which houses his and his wife Adviser Geetiara's businesses--Adcom, SignAge and Megavision, even after the expiry of the agreement of his legal tenancy.

Nazim Kamran was elected an MP back in 1979-80 from BNP ticket. He contested with a BNP ticket in 1991 from Sylhet but lost. He is currently involved with LDP.

In the case, Farhana Islam alleged that the accused are the tenants of the house. "The agreement with the tenants expired on September 30 this year and they were given notice to vacate the house. Despite that the accused wanted to install an electric generator at the house on October 22 last. When the I (complainant) opposed them to install the generator, they beat me and my husband up with iron rods and at one stage, injured us with sharp knives. Being seriously injured, we went to Gulshan Police Station to file a case and produced a medical certificates of injuring me and my husband by Nazim Kamran Chowdhury's hired goons, but the Gulshan police refused to accept the case. Finding no other alternative, I have filed the case with the court today," she said.

Farhana alleged that Nazim Kamran Choudhury and his men beat her up with iron rods and tugged at her sari when they made an attempt to free their property.

Apart from Nazim Kamran Choudhury, other accused are Adviser Geetiara's brother Abu Rushd Tareque, cousin Mokim Chowdhury, Adcomm director Shamsunnahar Tareque, Shakhawat Hossain, Geeteara's son-in-law Adit Bhagat, Ripon, Bipul and Yaar Ali.

Farhana Islam and her husband Dr Mahbubul Islam, a Ph.D. in Economics from Boston's Northeastern University and a professor of St Francis University of Pennsylvania, USA, jointly held a press conference on October 25 last at Dhaka Reporters Unity conference room.

At the press conference Farhana Islam alleged that Nazim Kamran Chowdhury slapped her on her face, ripped her sari and hurled obscenities at her when she was begging him for his husband's life.

"Nazim Kamran Choudhury tore my sari and used indecent language and threatened to kill me and my husband, asking his gangs to drive a pickup truck over my husband Dr Mahbubul Islam," she said.

'I don't feel secure as his [Kamran's] men continue to threaten me,' said Dr Islam who 'had invested his hard-earned foreign currency into the building'. He asked the government whether his investment in his home country was an offence.

He regretted the role of the lawmen, saying that they had acted as silent onlookers even after the tenants attacked the landowner. 'They did not accept our complaint as a regular case. Rather they suggested that we settle the matter on our own.'

Dr Islam said that the tenancy agreement between him and three private firms--Adcomm, SignAge and Megavision-owned by Geeteara and her husband expired on September 30, 2007. Adcomm, set up in 1974, now has an annual turnover of some Taka 450 million with leading multinationals such as Unilever among its clients.

He alleged that the tenants refused to leave the building even though the agreement had expired last month.

The tenants in question took the matter to the court, seeking an injunction against the landowner's plea, but the court dismissed the appeal, the professor the reporters. 'They have no legal right to stay in my building'.

Meanwhile, the land-owners snapped the power connections of the office space used by the three firms, claiming that the connections were over-burdened and may cause fire at any time.

But the tenants brought a generator into the premises and forcibly set it up for electric supply. Dr Islam tried to resist the attempt but was beaten up by the tenants' men, alleged the professor's wife, Farhana Islam, who went to register a case with Gulshan Police Station on that day.

She said that firstly the police declined to receive the complaint, and later they received it and pretended to try to find out whether or not they could file a regular case on the basis of the complaint

When he was asked to comment, an on-duty officer of the Gulshan police station said that they were investigating the allegation. 'We are trying to solve the problem amicably,' he claimed.

One of the directors of the Adcomm, Mrs Shamsun Nahar Tareque, in a press statement issued recently claimed that the land-owner and the tenants had a meeting on February 10 and decided to extend the agreement on expiry of the current five-year tenure.

"But the owner, breaching his commitment, served a notice on June 27, asking us to vacate the building by September 30 for reasons unknown" she said.

She claimed that the owner cut off the gas, electricity and water connections, ignoring the tenants' request.

Adcomm referred to two cases--one filed with the court of the chief metropolitan magistrate and the other with the judge court--for protection of the company's assets. The cases are now under trial.