Mymensingh Land Office Naib Abul Kalam Azad has been accused of bribery, registration of names on forged documents and amassing huge wealth beyond known income. The lack of consistency between the legitimate income of a government employee and the alleged assets in his and his family members’ names has raised questions in the public mind.
The victims allege that during his long tenure in various land offices in Mymensingh, he was accused of land registration, rejection, encroachment on government khas land, creation of fake holdings, and extortion of money through a broker’s ring.
While working at the Akua Land Office, there are allegations that he bought property worth crores of taka in the name of his mother-in-law and questioned the ownership of a six-storey house in the Akua area. In addition, there are allegations that he transferred one person’s land to another in exchange for money and took a bribe of Tk 25,000 for the transfer despite having valid documents.
He is also accused of creating fake holdings and registering them (which were later cancelled) and taking a bribe of Tk 24,000 from an elderly woman. He is most recently accused of harassing and threatening four journalists who went to the Mymensingh Sadar Municipal Land Office on November 12 to inquire about land acquisition.
The victims are demanding that his income and expenditure accounts, asset statements, bank transactions, land purchase documents, and the source of assets in the names of close relatives from the beginning of his service to the present be verified. They are also demanding that the controversial name changes made during his time in Akua be re-verified.
According to informed sources, for the sake of a fair investigation, it is necessary to verify the truth of the allegations by taking the statement of the accused officer. The locals have demanded legal action if the allegations are proven and clarification through investigation if they are false.
Although Naib was called several times to ask for his opinion on the matter, he did not answer.
