An assistant engineer at Rajdhani Unnayan Kartipakkha (RAJUK) has amassed a fortune through alleged corruption, bribery and misuse of power. He is said to have acquired properties worth crores of taka both in Dhaka and Natore.
Engineer Rafiqul Islam (Implementation-6, Uttara Expanded Project) is allegedly involved in various irregularities and corruption, including misappropriation of project funds, sale of plots or flats, and illegal lease of land.
He reportedly owns four plots at Uttara along with a six-storey building, a plot at Purbachal New Town project, and two cars, all with bribe money.
He also bought bighas of land at Singa Mouza in Singra upazila of Natore district. The market value of the land is estimated to be several crores of taka.
According to information obtained from local land office and RAJUK regional office, Rafiqul Islam and his wife are the owners of Plot No-06, Road No-411, Sector No-20 at Purbachal New Town project.
Al Amin Bhuiyan, a local resident, said that the plot of land at Bamoti Mauza in Rupganj upazila was sold in November 2020 for around Tk 1.5 crore. Rafiqul Islam bought the plot from a local resident at low price by using several tactics, he added.
Talking to the locals, it is known that a good number of RAJUK officers and employees have 3-5 katha plots at Purbachal. They further alleged that some unscrupulous people of RAJUK resorted to massive fraud, using the names of the victims of Purbachal New Town project. Incidents such as file tampering and forgery-induced allocation to third parties in the names of impacted plot owners are common. Some officers and employees in charge of Purbachal area of RAJUK, leaders of employees’ unions and multipurpose cooperative societies are involved in such misdeeds.
Rafiqul Islam and his wife Selina Sultana own 9-katha and 3-katha plots at Block-D and Block-H of Uttara Sector-17. Plots are in Baunia and Diabari Mouzas. Though only one holding number should be issued, Engineer Rafiqul Islam misused power to separate the 9-katha plot and sanctioned holding number 25 for 3 kathas and holding number 26 for 6 kathas. As a result, one bill can be submitted against two holding numbers. As a result, Rajuk will suffer loss financially.
Another local resident Badsha said that engineer Rafiqul Islam bought 3-katha plot in September 2022 for Tk 2.23 crore. He also claimed that he was directly involved in purchase and sale of plots.
Additionally, the owner of House No. 30 of Road No.-17 in Uttara Sector No. 11 is Engineer Rafiqul Islam, Sector Welfare Association confirmed it to Bangladesh Post. This 6-storey building was built on 5 kathas of land locally known as Sara Villa.
It means that Rafiqul, a sixth-grade officer, owns 17 kathas of land at RAJUK Uttara project. His monthly salary is now Tk 67,010. If he would have received monthly average salary of Tk 45,000 during his tenure, he has earned a total of Tk 13,500,000 so far. Parties concerned raised a question how he amassed a fortune with this salary.
Neighbours said that engineer Rafiqul Islam lives with his family on the first and second floors of 6-storey building.
Selina Sultana, a housewife, claimed herself as a tenant. “We do not own two cars--Dhaka Metro-Ga 33-8358 and Dhaka Metro-Cha 11-8152 put in the garage,” she told the Bangladesh Post.
When this correspondent contacted the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA), they confirmed that the cars were registered in the names of Selina Sultana and Aktar Hossain.
Aktar Hossain, owner of Noha car, told Bangladesh Post that the car was put up for sale at a showroom in Uttara. Later, a person named Rafiqul Islam bought the car for Tk 32 lakh. Although the car is still in his name. The buyer informed the showroom authorities that he would change the name soon, but the initiative has not been taken so far.
When asked about his abundant property, Assistant Engineer Rafiqul Islam declined to comment. He left the office promptly without saying anything. Despite frequent efforts over phone, he could not be reached for his comment in this regard.
When asked about anonymous properties of the officials, Abdul Latif Helali, Chief Engineer (Project and Design) of Rajdhani Unnayan Kartipakkha, said, "I see decent behaviour of these officials in the office. No official has amassed wealth by informing us."
"The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) is there to take action against those who amassed illegal assets. No one will be spared who are involved in corruption. If there is a specific complaint like receiving money through illegal means, RAJUK will definitely take action," he said.
