Shibir cadres snatched crore-taka crop protection dam project in Sunamganj with DC’s help

❐ Staff Correspondent

After embezzling huge sums of money in the name of making innocent people accused in cases after August 5, journalist Masum Helal alias Helal Uddin Masum, a notorious cadre of the secret organization Shibir in Sunamganj and a special blessing of leaders during the Awami League era, has now embezzled crores of taka under a fake project in the name of a haor crop protection dam.

As a cadre of the Shibir, with the help of Sunamganj District Commissioner Mohammad Ilias Mia, this once fierce activist, gave his associate, Shibir leader Shahidnur Ahmed, a member of the Sunamganj Municipal College, a place in the district committee of the Water Development Board (PAUBO), and the Mashum Helal and Shahidnur gang have seized multiple projects worth crores of taka.

Meanwhile, BD Digest has obtained a video statement from those involved in one of Machum Helal’s corruption projects.

It is learned that Helal Uddin Masum alias Masum Helal, former president of Sunamganj Government College and Sunamganj (South) Chhatra Shibir, used to sell khichuri in the municipal market. He suddenly became a journalist a decade ago. After the Awami League government came to power, he started making connections with influential leaders from different areas of the district and started taking advantage of them.

It is alleged that he took advantage of the Awami League government through his closeness to District Awami League President Nurul Huda Mukut, his brother Jubo League convener Khairul Huda Chapal, former District Awami League General Secretary and Municipal Mayor (late) Ayub Bakht Jaglul, his brother District Awami League General Secretary Pauline Bakht, Chhatak Municipal Mayor Abul Kalam Chowdhury, his brother Shamim Chowdhury, Dirai Municipal Mayor Mosharraf Hossain, District Awami League Vice President Rezaul Karim Shamim, and former District Chhatra League President Fazle Rabbi Sarman.

A close source, on condition of anonymity, admitted that Ayub Bakht also took over the editing of Jaglul’s newspaper Sunamganj Report and published a few issues. Later, Ayub Bakht took over the allocation of a government shop worth half a crore taka from Jaglul at Hossain Bakht Square in the municipal city. This Masum Helal used to prepare press releases for Noman Bakht Palin.

Besides, Machum Helal also took control of the politics of the Press Club by coming close to former Chhatra League president Fazle Rabbi Samran and his mother, Mahila Awami League president Advocate Shamsunnahar Rabbani Shahana. It is alleged that Samran used Machum Helal to regularly write against his opposition.

However, after August 5, Shibir cadre Masum Helal returned as a masked person. He tried to create a mob by writing provocative articles on social media against Awami League leaders. He extorted huge money from many leaders by threatening the mob. There is evidence against him of inciting the vandalism of various sculptures and shrines in Bishwambharpur and the city of Sunamganj.

In September, after the fall of the Awami League government, he used Hafizur Rahman, the brother of Zahur Ali, who was injured in the July riots, from his own upazila, Doarabazar, to accuse innocent people from different areas of the district. He called many people and threatened to frame them in the case, extorting a large sum of money.

Upon learning of the extortion incident through lawsuits, Zahur Ali, who was injured in the movement, came to social media and exposed the scandal of Masum Helal’s lawsuit business live. Based on his live, all the top media outlets in the country and international media outlets, including Deutsche Welle, published numerous reports. In these reports, the issue of Masum Helal’s lawsuit business came up in detail.

But after August, when Mohammad Ilias Mia, a former student of Dhaka University and Shishir Monir’s roommate, took over as the District Commissioner, Masum Helal, who was inspired by the July spirit, increased his power. He showed off his DC power and indulged in extortion and corruption in various places throughout the district.

At one stage, Masum Helal, as the district president of the Haor Crop Protection Dam, grabbed projects worth nearly crores of taka from the DC. He grabbed multiple projects in his own upazila, Doyrabazar, his younger sister’s home in Jamalganj Upazila, and his father-in-law’s home in Madhyanagar.

Among them, he has seized a fake project worth about 3 million taka in his village Goreshpur. Although it is not a crop protection dam for the haor at all, the DC gifted the fake project worth 3 million taka to Shibir cadre DC Masum Helal.

Machum Helal inducted his constant companion and former Shibir cadre of Sunamganj Municipal College, Shahid Noor, into the district committee as DC. Shahid Noor has already grabbed several projects in his own upazila, Shantiganj, Dirai and Shalla upazilas.

After August 5, the Helal-Shahidnoor duo started harassing innocent people in the district and earning money. Many people, fearing them, paid them large sums of money. During this time, the duo also got involved in sand looting in the river and black marketing at the border.

This time, they also focused on the allocation of crop protection dams for the haor. They received assistance in this work from Shishir Monir, the son of a war criminal and the defeated candidate of Jamaat-e-Islami in Sunamganj-2 constituency.

There have already been allegations that the DC himself is planning and implementing various corrupt schemes by holding closed-door meetings with the Helal-Shahid Noor duo.

Meanwhile, Helal and Shahid Noor have been openly campaigning for Jamaat-e-Islami since before the last national election. They also campaigned directly for Jamaat candidates and sought votes in various places. However, they also strategically maintained ties with an influential pro-Jamaat group within the BNP.

After Jamaat’s debacle in Sunamganj, they are now trying to gain benefits from BNP MPs with the help of that clique.

Sunamganj Water Development Board Executive Engineer Imdadul Haque said, “Except for Doarabazar Upazila, there was no haor project in Goreshpur in the past. There is no haor here, so there was no need for a dam. But I cannot say how this time an unnecessary project was allocated here.”

Sunamganj District Commissioner Mohammad Ilias Mia was contacted on his mobile phone several times to inquire about this matter, but he did not pick up the call.