A bitter financial disagreement involving seventy lakh taka has taken a surreal turn in Dhamrai, Dhaka, after a local businessman found himself entangled in fabricated political accusations. Arfan Mia, a resident of the Molayghat area within the Dhamrai municipality, discovered that he had been named as an Awami League leader and an accused party in a student murder case stemming from the political upheaval of 5 August. Despite multiple police investigations clearing him of any political involvement, the businessman was subsequently arrested and forced to spend over two months behind bars.
The genesis of the ordeal traces back to a commercial transaction between Mr Mia and an individual named Shariful Islam. According to the aggrieved businessman, Mr Islam owed him seventy lakh taka. To settle the dues, two cheques were issued, one of which amounted to forty lakh taka. When that particular cheque bounced, Mr Mia initiated legal proceedings in 2019. The financial dispute intensified significantly when a court directed the defendant to clear the overdue payments.
Rather than settling the financial obligation, a complaint was lodged with the Ministry of Home Affairs, falsely branding Mr Mia as a political operative connected to student casualties. However, official investigative findings dismantled these claims entirely. An inquiry report led by the Additional Superintendent of Police for the Savar Circle, Md Shahinoor Kabir, concluded after field research and document scrutiny that Mr Mia held no affiliation with the Awami League, nor was he linked to any student protests or related legal cases. Furthermore, local political figures, including a leader from the Dhamrai Upazila unit of the BNP, testified during the inquiry that the businessman had no history of partisan political engagement. Police station records similarly showed no pending arrest warrants against him at the time.
Despite the exonerating investigative reports, the pressure mounted through legal channels. In August, an additional case was filed against him at the Uttara West police station, followed by an arrest in November by Dhamrai police station personnel in connection with a sabotage case. He was subsequently remanded to judicial custody, enduring an ordeal of two months and ten days before securing bail.
Mr Mia maintains that the strategy was engineered purely to evade financial liabilities. The accused complainant, Shariful Islam, defended his actions by stating that he approached the home ministry only after receiving harassment grievances and requested a proper verification of political identities. Meanwhile, Additional Superintendent of Police for Dhaka District, Md Jahangir Alam, acknowledged awareness of the situation, noting that authorities intend to review the matter with the local police station leadership to ensure appropriate administrative action.
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