Alam Sarowar Tito from Kishoreganj :
Launched on September 3, 2021, a four star ‘President Resort’ stands like an island on about 3000 decimals (30 acres) of land in Kishoreganj’s Mitamoin haor. The resort has 40 air-conditioned suites, in 20 two-storey cottages on one side. There are restaurants, party centers, children’s game zones and watch towers. The daily rent of each suite is Tk. 6,ooo to 28,000.
There is a large lake in the middle of the resort area. In the middle is the helipad. Several influential ministers, secretaries and high police officials of the previous government most often visited the resort. The owner of these huge establishments is Harun-ur-Rashid, the former DIG, also chief of Detective Branch (DB).
Besides this huge land, Harun illegally grabbed three to four hundred acres of land from innocent farmers for his agro farm. It is alleged that hundreds of acres of land have been occupied for expanding the resort last year. During the last dry season, under the leadership of Harun’s younger brother Dr. Shahriar, a mud dam has been constructed in an area of several kilometers from Mitamoin’s Hossainpur to Austagram’s Vatshala area. Farmers’ crop land has been cut and soil has been dumped to build the dam. But the construction of the dam was not completed due to monsoons.
The local wonder how does a police officer own such huge amount of money? Though this huge wealth had been discussed in public before, but no one talk openly for fear of harassment. After the fall of the Awami League government, many now inquire about the source of Harun’s huge wealth.
According to several local sources, Harun and his family members have forcefully occupied other people’s land for the resort. Apart from this, he seized the land and ponds of many, and forced or pressured the owners to sell the land. The foundation stone of the resort was laid on December 4, 2020. After that, its construction was completed in eight months. Harun started construction of resort and agro farm by taking loan from a private bank.
It was found out that Harun’s family had a small amount of land in his Haor village. His father late Abul Hashem was a rice trader in Mitamoin Bazar. He also worked in the Haor irrigation project.
Former Upazila Freedom Fighters Unit Commander Md. Ali Chowdhury said, Harun’s father late Abul Hashem did not participate in the Liberation War of 1971. When Harun was a Dhaka University Chhatra League leader, he took a Freedom Fighter Certificate for his father in 1997 during Awami League government. He passed in the 20th BCS exams in freedom fighter quota.
In 2002 the then BNP government blocked his appointment. Harun’s job got permanent at ‘One-Eleven’ regime. Local said, his paternal uncle Idris alias Idu Molla was a notorious Razakar.
Harun’s ‘destiny’ changed drastically when he was Superintendent of Police (SP) of Gazipur. According to the sources, Harun started buying land in Haor next to his house through his family members from the time he was SP of Gazipur and Narayanganj. He then bought at least 100 acres of land in his name. But it has been alleged that he is in possession of hundreds of acres of other land. People say, Harun laundered hundreds of millions of dollar in the United States.
Harun’s native, an expatriate in Saudi Arabia, Manik Mia said, while Harun was the Superintendent of Police (SP) of Gazipur and Narayanganj, his brother Shahriar, caretaker Abul Hashim and one Golam Mawla forcefully occupied his (Manik Mia) over five and a half acres of land in Mitamoin’s Hossainpur village in 2018, the current value of which is Tk. 2.5 million . At that time, they all three brothers (Manik Mia) were abroad. After returning from abroad, they could not recover the land from Harun and others despite their hard efforts.
He complained that Harun’s people grabbed the land and put it inside the pond of the resort and said that the pond was being built for fish farming. Later, Harun pressured them to sell the land without returning it.
Apart from this, several acres of land owned by 10 to 15 farmers including Syed Ali, Islam Uddin, Abdul Ali, Iqbal Hossain, Farid Mia of that village have been illegally occupied for the resort and its surrounding farm. Manik Mia demanded the return of their land to the Chief Advisor of the interim government.
Former DB chief Harun-ur-Rashid’s mobile phone was not available for his statement regarding the complaint. His brother, ABM Shahriar, who is Managing Director (MD) of the President Resort, is also unreachable over phone.
