A sophisticated forgery syndicate operating inside the Dhaka lower court premises has been exposed following the theft of official case files directly from courtroom benches. Police investigations into the disappearing files uncovered a scheme where stolen court documents were used as templates to compose fraudulent acquittal orders and forged judicial verdicts at local computer shops.
The mastermind behind the operation has been identified as Anwarul Haq, also known as Russel, who posed as a lawyer’s assistant. Police arrested Anwarul on 21 August from Ekta Housing in Shyampur after reviewing CCTV footage from the court premises. Subsequent interrogations led to the arrests of his associate, computer operator Ahsan Habib, and Jamila Akter, the wife of an absconding suspect named Tanvir Ahmed.
The racket began unraveling after two separate theft cases were filed at Kotwali Police Station. The first incident took place on 2 July at the Dhaka Second Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge’s Court, where Anwarul asked to inspect the case file of a weapons charge against Tanvir, who has been absconding in Saudi Arabia for several years. Taking advantage of the court staff’s temporary absence, Anwarul fled with the original case file. Bench Assistant Khairul Alam subsequently lodged a police complaint. A month later, on 3 August, Anwarul executed a identical theft at the Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Court-8, stealing the file of a narcotics case against Tanvir’s uncle, Robiul Haq.
Investigating officers revealed that Anwarul had struck a deal worth 90,000 taka with Jamila, promising complete acquittals for both her husband and uncle. Anwarul initially handed her fake acquittal papers. However, when fresh court summonses arrived, Jamila questioned the authenticity of the resolution. To convince her that the cases were genuinely closed, Anwarul resorted to stealing the original case files from the courtrooms to present them to her as proof of dismissal.
During a raid on Ahsan Habib’s computer shop near the court compound, police recovered forged verdict copies for at least 10 different cases stored on a computer drive. Investigating Officer SI Debashish Hawlader stated that officers are examining how the court documents were processed and are working to recover the counterfeit seals used by the syndicate.
Anwarul had previously worked for two and a half years as a office boy for advocate Abdus Sattar before abruptly leaving in March. Prior to his departure, he photographed client contact details to run independent extortion scams. Jamila has since submitted a legal confession before Metropolitan Magistrate Albiruni Meer, claiming she believed the stolen documents were legitimate discharge papers provided in good faith.
Public Prosecutor Omar Faruq Faruqui characterised the theft of court records and fabrication of judgments as an extraordinary assault on the judiciary, warning that any legal professionals found aiding the racket will face criminal prosecution and the revocation of their Bar Council licences.
