ছবি: Subrata Adhikari, Sheikh Shamim Anwar Babu, and Khan Moniruzzaman. Photo: Collected
In a significant operation, joint forces in Chitalmari, Bagerhat, arrested three individuals, including the leader of a deed writer syndicate, on charges of embezzling money. The trio was caught red-handed with more than three lakh taka in cash on Friday (November 22). Among those arrested, two are local leaders of the Awami League (AL) and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).
SM Nantu Hasan, a resident of Shibpur Beparipara village and the plaintiff in the case, filed a complaint at Chitalmari Police Station on Friday.
The arrested individuals include Sheikh Shamim Anwar Babu (51), joint general secretary of the Chitalmari Upazila Awami League and a deed writer; Khan Moniruzzaman (51), president of the BNP's local branch and the deed writers' association; and Subrata Adhikari (42), a deed writer. The trio was caught while distributing the illegally obtained money.
Subrata is from Khalishpur, Bagerhat, Khan Moniruzzaman hails from Chitalmari, and Sheikh Shamim is from Shibpur Beparipara.
The plaintiff reported that on the basis of his verbal complaint, a joint task force raided the sub-registrar's office on Thursday evening, seizing 359,000 taka in cash and arresting the three individuals.
For years, a powerful syndicate operating under the banner of the Deed Writers’ Association has been exploiting innocent people through various deceptive schemes to extort money from them. Sources, who wished to remain anonymous, revealed that there are about 55-60 deed writers at the Chitalmari Sub-Registrar’s office. These individuals allegedly use coercion to extort money from the public. Before August 5, members of the Awami League and Youth League held top positions in the syndicate, but post-August 5, local BNP leaders have taken over the leadership.
The Chitalmari Sub-Registrar, Samir Karmakar, did not respond to repeated calls for comment. However, the district registrar, Md. Ruhul Kuddus, confirmed the incident, stating, "I have heard about the matter. As the office is closed, I will be able to provide more details by Sunday. If any misconduct or corruption is found among the deed writers, necessary action will be taken."
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