The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

Notorious criminal Shahjahan Siraj has serious crime record from cheating to extortion and grabbing land of common people, police said.

At present he is on bail in a number of cases including the extortion case No. 2073/07. He was arrested by the cantonment police on Tuesday but got bail on the same day.

The alleged criminal with his aides in May last tried to cheat former Executive Editor of The Bangladesh Observer and former Principal Information Officer of the Government Abdur Rahim. However, they were arrested and later freed on bail.

Abdur Rahim was away in London for nearly four years in late 80s in a diplomatic job. Returning back to Dhaka he went to RAJUK and was informed by the then Deputy Director of Estate Department that one Mustafa had claimed to have obtained a power of attorney from a fake man using Rahim's name and address. The DD told him that he had dismissed the false claim and recommended severe action against the frauds.

The cheats in connivance with RAJUK'S dishonest officers and employees manage to get copies of documents of allottees of RAJUK plots. In some cases they were successful in usurping plots and houses of absentee allottees.

"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 located in Gulshan. I then had made a General Diary with the Gulshan Police Station." Rahim told this correspondent.

On May 5, 2008 one Abdullah al-Mamun (Sher-e-Gul), Managing Director of a real estate establishment came to Rahim's Gulshan residence accompanied by another person said to be one of the directors of the 'Ma Baba Builders Ltd' located at Purana Paltan to buy his house.

Rahim informed the Gulshan Police and a Brigadier-General of the Army about the incident. The police acted quickly and arrived at his house and arrested Sher-e-Gul. Gul informed police that one Shahajahan Siraj was waiting at his Paltan Office to finalise the financial transaction regarding selling of Rahim's house.

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.

Later police and an Army Major with some sepoys reached to the Ma-Baba Builder's office and arrested Shajahan Siraj. Shahjahan Siraj told the police that he was working on behalf of one Shahjahan Mollah, the holder of the power of attorney.

With the help of Shahjahan Siraj police and army personnel later arrested Shajahan Mollah on charge of cheating.

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.