ACC sues Rupayan Housing chairman, 42 others over alleged land grab
It said that preliminary investigation and evidence indicated collusion between Rupayan Housing Estate and Rajuk officials to conceal land ownership details and information on pending cases, enabling the issuance of land-use clearance and construction permits in favour of the company.
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has filed a case against 43 individuals, including Rupayan Housing Estate Limited Chairman Liaquat Ali Khan Mukul, over allegations of misappropriating government land and property belonging to Bhawal Estate through forgery, abuse of power and violation of court orders.
ACC Deputy Director Akhtarul Islam disclosed the matter to journalists today (22 January), saying preliminary investigation and evidence indicated collusion between Rupayan Housing Estate and Rajuk officials to conceal land ownership details and information on pending cases, enabling the issuance of land-use clearance and construction permits in favour of the company.
According to the ACC case, the accused include Mukul's wife Rokeya Begum Nasima and son Mahir Ali Khan Ratul; Rupayan Housing directors Farida Begum and Ali Akbar Khan Ratan; and Estate Officer Sazzad Hossain. Rajuk officials accused in the case include deputy town planners Kamrul Hasan Sohag and Md Sirajul Islam, draftsman Md Alamgir Kabir, and designer Md Emdadul Haque Munshi.
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The ACC probe found that on 9 April 2013, Rupayan Housing entered into a sale agreement and memorandum of understanding with the complainant over 2.51 acres of land. However, instead of paying the agreed price and completing registration, Rupayan's head of land division, Sazzad Hossain, filed a declaratory suit claiming ownership of the land.
The court imposed a status quo on the disputed land in 2013 and reiterated the order in 2022.
Meanwhile, in 2018, both parties agreed to appoint a lawyer as arbitrator to settle the payment issue. The arbitrator ruled in favour of the complainant and ordered Rupayan Housing to pay Tk192 crore at a rate of Tk1,26,31,000 per katha.
Rupayan then attempted to have the arbitral verdict annulled, which the court rejected in 2023, and ordered the company to make payment in favour of the complainant, while re-imposing the status quo on the land.
The investigation revealed that 2.35 acres of the disputed land belong to the Bhawal Raj Estate, while another plot in Ranabhola mouza is government land. Despite this, the accused Rajuk officials approved designs and issued construction permits in favour of Rupayan, enabling illegal construction on the land.
