Who got the goat?

It all started with a goat, presumably the most famous hoofed animal in the country. 

The controversy surrounding Mushfiqur Rahman Ifat and his notorious goat purchase – for an initial amount of Tk15 lakh – left the fate of the goat in question and now has led to a critical situation for Sadeeq Agro. 

As of Tuesday (25 June) Bangladesh's most talked-about goat remains under Sadeeq Agro's care, but the farm is currently being evicted by the Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC).

Efforts to gather information from Sadeeq Agro were met with silence. 

An employee mentioned that the management was on leave, making them unable to provide any details. 

Additionally, they declined to share contact information for Mohammed Imran Hossain, Chairman of Sadeeq Agro Ltd, who has been at the centre of the media storm.

Earlier, Imran disclosed that he had purchased the goat from Jashore several months ago. 

He expressed regret over selling the goat prematurely due to high demand, stating, "We regret selling it because there was more demand. If we had more, we could have sold more." 

Sadeeq Agro reportedly paid Tk10,35,000 to acquire the goat. The final amount to sell the goat to Ifat reached Tk15 lakh. 

As of Tuesday (25 June) Bangladesh’s most talked-about goat remains under Sadeeq Agro's care, but the farm is currently being evicted by the Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC).

According to Imran, Ifat paid him an advance of Tk1 lakh, but the rest of the money was yet to come. 

Afsar Shah, an Indian Beetal goat farmer, commented on the controversy, noting that his largest goat for Eid-Ul-Adha measured 52 inches, while Sadeeq Agro's goat stood at an impressive 62 inches in height.

The entire ordeal emerged when a video of Ifat's purchase of the goat went viral. 

The first to come under scrutiny was Ifat's father, former NBR officer Matiur Rahman. 

Matiur took a strange route when faced with his son's extravagant expenditure, claiming Mushfiqur wasn't even his child. 

When this claim was easily refuted, Imran returned to the scene. 

This time, the Sadiq Agro chairman changed his narrative.

He claimed the goat remained unsold and that Ifat had only paid a booking amount of Tk1 lakh without taking delivery. 

Ifat countered these claims, accusing Imran of staging a "drama" using him.

By this time, authorities had begun looking into Matiur's wealth. 

He was been removed from his post as president of the NBR Customs, Excise and VAT Appellate Tribunal – the first time such a move had been made against an NBR tribunal president.

Matiur was then attached to the Internal Resources Division (IRD) of the finance ministry, but wasn't given any specific designation in his new role, effectively making him an Officer on Special Duty (OSD).

A process began to also remove him from the board of Sonali Bank. 

An ACC investigation, which officially began on 4 June, is also looking into 55 bighas of land in Pubail under his name, alongside a park, more 300 bighas of land, a shoe factory, expensive cars and homes parked under his or his relative's names.

Then a Dhaka court imposed a travel ban on Ifat's father, Matiur Rahman, a former member of the National Board of Revenue (NBR), and his family on Monday (24 June). 

However, reports suggest that both Ifat and his father have already left the country.

Adding to the farm's woes, the Dhaka North initiated eviction proceedings against Sadeeq Agro, citing illegal occupancy of government land. 

According to sources, the DNCC has already started removing structures from the farm, escalating the uncertainty surrounding the farm's operations and the goat's fate.

The goat, meanwhile, is on its way to the new place that Sadiq Agro will be located at. 

The nation's eyes are now glued to the goat; it offers a more intriguing story than that of the Tigers