Forgery At Keraniganj Land Office: Awami League Leader’s Brother Arrested

Authorities at the Keraniganj Model Land Office in Dhaka have exposed a sophisticated document forgery attempt, handing over a suspect to local police whilst releasing his associate upon the execution of a formal undertaking.

The incident unfolded on Monday during a scheduled hearing regarding a miscellaneous land dispute (miscellaneous case) involving a valuable 58-decimal plot situated in Mandail Mouza. The Assistant Commissioner (Land) and Executive Magistrate, Jannatul Maowa, uncovered forged official signatures and fabricated record entries during a routine review of the case documents.

Two individuals, identified as Sumon and Kamrul Hasan Shahin, were initially detained at the land office premises after the irregularities came to light. Sumon is the brother of local Jinjira Awami League leader Mamun, whilst Shahin is the brother of Shamim Hasan, President of the Keraniganj Model Upazila unit of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).

Explaining the sequence of events, Executive Magistrate Jannatul Maowa stated that the scrutiny of a newly submitted case file revealed her official signature had been carefully copied. Additionally, the official registration number cited on the documents was entirely fake, and the primary plaintiff in the land petition was absent from the hearing.

Under initial questioning at the land office, Sumon admitted to forging the signatures and official record numbers. His associate, Shahin, had initially introduced himself as an advocate representing the applicant. Subsequent verification confirmed that Shahin was not a qualified legal practitioner. However, after signing a written undertaking asserting that he had no direct involvement in the forgery scheme, Shahin was permitted to leave the office.

Sumon was formally handed over to the Keraniganj Model Police Station, where law enforcement officials are preparing criminal charges related to document forgery and impersonation of public officials. Land office officials emphasized that stringent verification measures will remain in place to prevent fraudulent claims on land properties across the upazila.