Women, land-grabbing, extortion: The many scandals of Haru

Bangla Press Desk: Women’s scandals, seizure of others’ property, and extortion were Harun’s main activities. In a police uniform, he behaved like a mafia member.

After becoming DB chief, Harun Or Rashid, commonly known as DB Harun, placed himself beyond reach and began extreme arbitrariness. He turned the DB office into a harem. Showbiz stars were brought to the DB office, where filthy acts took place. Rapists, looters and identified terrorists were among his close associates.

Harun spent illegally acquired millions chasing showbiz stars. Two of Harun’s closest suppliers were Taposh of TV channel “Gaan Bangla” and content creator Touhid Afridi. Their job was to bring beautiful women to Harun. Late at night, the DB office became a brothel.

Harun would be stupefied by women and alcohol. With Harun’s patronage, Touhid Afridi and Taposh became brazen. With Harun’s assistance, Taposh took control of the Gaan Bangla. No one dared speak against Taposh because of Harun.

Touhid Afridi enjoyed free rein to do as he pleased because of Harun. Afridi used to address Harun as “uncle.” As Harun’s supplier, Afridi’s crimes went unpunished.

Touhid Afridi staged a drama of romance with a girl named Munia. Afterwards, she was raped and murdered. The whole case was covered up under Harun’s supervision.

To save Touhid Afridi, the Munia murder case was diverted into another channel. An attempt was made to hide the real truth by spreading obscene lies linking a prominent young entrepreneur in the country.

However, after Touhid Afridi’s arrest on 5 August, the real truth has come out. Thus, Harun became a protector of criminals. Besides sexual scandals, there are hundreds of allegations of extortion and land-grabbing against Harun.

For extortion, he would pick up industrialists and terrorise them with the threat of arrest in fabricated cases.

In one series of incidents, when Amber Group chairman Shawkot Aziz Russell refused to pay extortion, SP Harun, accompanied by a group of police, abducted Russell’s wife and children from their Gulshan home in the capital and took them to Narayanganj.

They were later released on bond. When this caused an uproar, on 10 November 2019, SP Harun was removed from Narayanganj and attached to Police Headquarters (Training Reserve).

Before joining Narayanganj, Harun had served as SP of Gazipur. During his four consecutive years there, countless allegations were levelled against him – holding businessmen and industrialists hostage for money, helping and facilitating land grabs and other serious charges.

In 2018, SP Harun allegedly assisted in seizing a market built on about 21% of the land at Noyonpur Market in Mawa. In return, he took a large sum of money, complained the market’s owner, Aminul Haji.

 He said the market belonged to three brothers (their father bought 44% of the land from someone about fifty years ago; the government later took 23%, leaving the market on the remaining 21%).

But the son of the land’s previous owner, Amir Hossain, with the help of SP Harun and the DB, grabbed the market. All the land documents were in order.

One night, in the presence of police and DB members, they bulldozed the market and took possession. Before that, the DB had come to their home and behaved badly to force them to leave the land. They threatened and intimidated them severely.

When they went to the SP’s office to explain the matter to DB OC Amir Hossain, he did not help; instead, he told them to vacate the market.

Victims also accuse SP Harun of forcibly arranging the registration of land worth one hundred crore taka by helping arrange financial irregularities.

A case was filed against him in the district joint sessions court about this. On 10 May 2016, a land ministry official and a local filed that case. Later, SP Harun secured bail on surety.

Former vice-chairman of Sreepur upazila parishad and banished Awami League leader Md Mahtab Uddin was a victim of Harun’s persecution. Mahtab was harassed because he worked as the political coordinator for former member of parliament (MP) Iqbal Hossain Sabuj.

A false narcotics case was filed against him, instigated by the son of a former MP. Investigation shows that on 6 April 2017, late at night, DB police raided Mahtab Uddin’s house near Mawa crossroads. When he asked whether any case existed against him or why he was being taken, a DB officer said SP Harun had ordered his arrest.

DB members put him on a microbus for Gazipur, but instead of taking him along Gazipur roads, they circled the Mawa crossroads and took him to the district DB office, keeping him in a room.

The next morning, they put him into a black microbus and took him to a deserted area outside the city and detained him for at least five hours. In the afternoon, Mahtab Uddin was brought before the court custody.

The officer in charge of court custody requested the DB forward the case; the DB members replied there was no case yet, that a case was coming and “Sir asked us to keep him with you.” Without formally forwarding, the custody officer refused to keep him, but after the DB members spoke to a senior officer, the custody officer kept him in his room. Later in the afternoon, he was presented in court on a drug charge.

Mahtab Uddin says he was jailed for 24 days on the false charge of possessing two hundred yaba pills. He says he was harassed completely without cause.

A businessman named Mahbub Hossain alleges Harun abducted and held him hostage to extort money. He says he was subjected to various threats, brutal torture and extortion of Tk15.7 million. Mahbub, a former trader leader of Kalyanpur Thana’s Shafikur Bazar in Gazipur, recounted that he received a phone call from someone claiming to be from the DB office and was told to give his address. When they arrived, they said SP Harun had ordered him to go to Gazipur.

They put him into a vehicle and, after crossing Mouchak, they handcuffed him, blindfolded him and bound his face. He realised several others had been detained from different places. They drove him around and began torturing him inside the vehicle. Beating him relentlessly, they told him he had no supporters; if he had anyone, he should negotiate; otherwise, he should prepare for death.

They demanded Tk20 lakh to spare his life. Late at night, he called his brother and explained he had been abducted and that they were demanding ransom. They then took him to Kodda, where Inspector Bachchu severely beat him. Afterwards, they took him to the home of SP Harun’s close associate, Jasim.

By then, they had already taken Tk4,00,000 from his brother. Mahbub had cash of Tk70,000 and two checks worth Tk20,00,000 and Tk18,50,000. They took those and told him to pay more the next morning. In front of the police, Jasim demanded that 10% of a plot of land be registered in his name.

 When Mahbub refused, they threatened him. Later, promising to release him on registration of 4% of the land, they let him go. The next day, some 10-12 policemen with arms and Jasim came to his house and demanded that money be paid by using the cheques taken from him.

Under coercion, he withdrew Tk38.5 lakh via those two checks. A few days later, at gunpoint, they abducted him and his daughter and forced the registration of four decimals (four hundredths of an acre) of land.

In total, they took about Tk15.7 million from him at various times. All of this, he says, was carried out on SP Harun’s orders and executed by his close associates.

Despite so many crimes, Harun remained on duty. Because he was the Awami League’s mafia, above the law.

BP/SP