Forest officer with '17 wives' suspended

Banglapress Published: 23 September 2025, 10:26 AM

Forest officer with '17 wives' suspended

Bangla Press Desk: Barishal’s Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Kabir Hossain Patowary has been temporarily suspended amid nationwide controversy for allegedly marrying 17 times. A government notice from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, issued on Tuesday, confirmed Kabir Hossain has been suspended and reassigned to the Rangpur Range. The astonishing allegation states that Kabir Hossain married 17 women after promising them overseas education, government jobs, flight attendant jobs, and even property. Earlier on 11 September, several of the alleged victims and their families staged a one-hour human chain and protest outside the Conservator of Forests’ office in Barishal city.

Among those were Dhaka-resident Naznin Akter Sheela, Narayanganj’s Sonia Akter, and Khulna’s Nasrin Akter Dolon, all claiming they had been deceived by Patowary. The scandal reached the courts when lawyer Advocate Hafiz Ahmed Babul, the Public Prosecutor of Barishal Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court, filed a case on his own initiative with the Metropolitan First Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday. Judge Md Sadiq Ahmed accepted the case and ordered the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) to submit a report. Advocate Babul said, Patowary is a native of Matlab in Chandpur who had previously been stationed in Dhaka, Khulna, Sirajganj, and Bagerhat. In each district, he allegedly carried out a string of marriages — a total of 17 — under false pretences.

He further stated Patowary had violated Section 6 of the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance, 1961, and committed an offence under clause 6(5)(b). Babul emphasised, “The forest officer not only broke the law but also defied religious values, local culture, and the social fabric of the country by secretly marrying one woman after another, without disclosing his previous marriages.” The lawyer said he learned of the matter from media reports and decided to act. This article was originally published on Daily Sun.

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