Allegations of Bribery Against Assistant Commissioner (Land) Over Land Settlement

An allegation of bribery, embezzlement of money in the name of canal recovery, and failure to hand over land has been raised against Mehedi Hasan, the Assistant Commissioner (Land) of Jajira upazila in Shariatpur.

The complaint was lodged by Liakat Hossain, an assistant teacher of social science at Jajira Mohar Ali High School and a resident of North Kabelnagar Kazi Kandi Chotan Jame Mosque area under Joynagar Union.

According to Liakat Hossain, his ancestral land, inherited from his father, has long been occupied by his cousin Razzak Bepari and others. After failing to recover the property, he submitted an application to the Deputy Commissioner of Shariatpur. Following the DC’s instruction, the Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) assigned Assistant Commissioner (Land) Mehedi Hasan to investigate and take action.

The victim alleged that Mehedi Hasan demanded a bribe of one lakh taka in exchange for handing over the land. Liakat Hossain said he was compelled to pay 80,000 taka. On Mehedi Hasan’s suggestion, he even hired an excavator at his own expense to recover a government canal. However, after the work was completed, the official neither refunded the cost nor returned the land as promised.

Liakat said, “I thought I would get my land back with help from a government official, but he demanded a bribe of one lakh taka. I paid 80,000 and recovered the canal at my own expense as advised. Now he is neither giving back my land nor reimbursing me.”

He further claimed that the Assistant Commissioner (Land) took money from his opponents and deliberately withheld the investigation report.

The affected teacher has submitted written complaints to both the Deputy Commissioner and the Divisional Commissioner of Dhaka.

The complaint also mentions that Liton, the Assistant Land Officer of Joynagar Union, collected an additional 60,000 taka on behalf of Mehedi Hasan.

A resident of Jajira, unwilling to disclose his name, said, “Nowadays, there is no union in Jajira where work at the land office is done without money. It wasn’t like this during previous officials’ tenures.”

When contacted, Assistant Commissioner (Land) Mehedi Hasan declined to comment on the allegation. However, it was alleged that he warned the teacher saying, “You will have to face the consequences for filing this complaint.”

Regarding the matter, Shariatpur Deputy Commissioner Tahsina Begum said, “We have received the written complaint and will take necessary action after investigation.”

Khabarwala/TSN