The New Nation - Internet Edition

Abdur Rahim

The boss of the real estate agency who was supposed to meet me at 10 AM on 5 May last at my Gulshan residence did not show up at the appointed time fixed by him the previous night. When I called him after an hour he said he had forgotten about the appointment but assured me that he would be coming to see me regarding "sale" of my house. He ultimately, turned up around noon and was accompanied by another person said to be one of the directors of the Ma Baba Builders Ltd. located at Purana Paltan.

To my utter surprise, Abdullah al-Mamun (Sher-e-Gul), M.D. of the real estate agency, said he was interested in buying my house and added he had all the relevant documents supplied to him by a mart. He further said, a representative of the proposed sellers was waiting at his office to finalise the deal. After knowing my identity as a journalist Sher-e-Gul was visibly shaken and wondered why I did not put my nameplate mentioning my identity at the gate in order to scare the cheats.

As a matter of fact, I could come to know from a source at the RAJUK in 2006 that someone using my name and address had issued a power of attorney in the name of one Shajahan Mollah authorising him to take any decision about my house. I then had made a General Diary with the Gulshan Police Station.

I was away in London for nearly four years in late 80s in a diplomatic job. Back to Dhaka I went to RAJUK in connection with my house and was informed by Mr Mujibur Rahman, the then Deputy Director of Estate Department that one Mustafa had claimed to have obtained a power of attorney from a fake man using my name and address. The D.D. told me that he had dismissed the false claim and recommended severe action against the frauds.

It is suspected that the cheats in connivance with RAJUK'S dishonest officers and employees manage to get copies of documents of allottes of RAJUK (previously DIT) plots. In some cases they were successful in usurping plots and houses of absentee allottees.

As I was aware of such a fraudulent move. I managed to keep the proposed buyers engaged in discussion offering them snacks and by that time informed the Gulshar Police and a Brigadier-General of the Army about the incident. The police was quick and active and arrived at my house. Meanwhile, the Sher-e-Gul received repeated calls from the sale representative waiting at his Paltan Office. The restless caller asked the M.D. to go to his office and finalise the financial transaction without further delay.

As per advice of S I Khabir, the police officer investigating the case, Sher-e-Gul told the waiting gentleman (Shahjahan Siraj) that he was on his way to the office. With the M.D. and his director the police went to Ma-Baba Builders office.

By that time a Major with some sepoys had arrived. Seeing the Army and Police Shajahan Siraj was bewildered. He said that he was working on behalf of Shahjahan Mollah, the holder of the power of attorney.

A former cook of a retired Major General Shahjahan Siraj is already on bail in a number of cases of money extraction and land-grabbing. As per direction of Major Hafiz, Shajahan Siraj asked the main accused in the case Shahjahan Mollah to come to receive the money. It did not take much time for Shajahan Mollah to arrive and be arrested.

Shahjahan Mollah who has a past criminal record as a teacher at the City's West End School has been sacked from his job after his arrest in the fraud case.

(Abdur Rahim is the former Executive Editor, The Bangladesh Observer.)