Hajj agency owner still absconding with Tk 50cr
ANISUR RAHMAN KHAN
The owner of Akbar Hajj Group Bangladesh, Mufti Lutfor Rahman Faruki, has gone into hiding after collecting some Tk. 50 crore from 2,000 Hajj passengers. Mufti Faruki collected the money from Hajj passengers through 1617 Hajj licences, said sources. Most of the passengers, who are supposed to perform Hajj in 2018 and 2019, deposited Tk. 2.5 lakh each on an average with Akbar Hajj Group Bangladesh. The last date for their registration for Hajj ended yesterday.
The government, however, has decided to extend the deadline since as many as 15,600 passengers, who intend to perform Hajj this year, are yet to get their registrations completed. The government is likely to extend the deadline for the registration by five days till April 11 in the third phase.
A total of 1,27,198 Bangladeshis7,198 under government management and 120,000 under private managementare expected to perform Hajj this year. The Hajj registration process started on March 1 under government management and March 6 under private management.
Meanwhile, Chittagong police arrested Mufti Lutfors wife Tamanna while she was trying to leave the country through Shah Amanat International Airport.
Tamanna, one of the main accused in a case filed with the Paltan police station for embezzling money deposited with his agencies for Hajj purposes, was trying to leave the country. She will be taken to Dhaka and handed over to Paltan police, officer-in-charge (OC) of Patenga Police Station in Chittagong, Abul Quashem Bhuiyan, told The Independent.
When asked about Tamannas husband Mufti Faruki, he replied that they just arrested Tamanna as when was trying to leave the country through Shah Amanat International Airport alone.
Tamanna will be shown arrested after she is brought to Dhaka from Chattogram. We will seek remand for Tamanna, Mahmudul Huq, officer-in-charge of Paltan police station, told this correspondent. Police are yet to arrest her husband Mufti Faruki but are trying to arrest him, he said in reply to a query.
The owner of Akbar Hajj Group Bangladesh, Mufti Lutfor Rahman Faruki, has operated his business through 16 or 17 licenses. He also operated this business with my licence, too, Faruk Hossain, owner of Al Kibla, told this correspondent. Faruki has taken money from about 150 passengers through the Al Kibla licence, he added.
I have communicated with the government and informed them about the matter to protect my licence, he said in reply to a query. He further said Faruki took at least Tk. 50 crore from some 2,000 Hajj passengers for the 2018 and 2019 Hajj.
At least 700 passengers have so far registered their names to perform Hajj this year through Akbar Hajj Group. The government is trying to accommodate these passengers to perform Hajj this year, Syful Islam, Hajj officer of Ashkona Hajj office, told this correspondent. At least 15,000 passengers under private management and about 600 pilgrims under government arrangement are yet to fulfil their final registrations, he said in reply to a query.
We have decided to extend the registration period by four or five more days, he added. The president of Bangladesh Hajj-jatri and Haji Kalyan Parishad, Dr Abdullah Al Naser, urged the government to take steps so that pilgrims could perform their Hajj smoothly without any hassles.
When asked about the fraudulence of Akbar Hajj Group, he said, This unfortunate occurrence has taken place because of the tendency to perform Hajj with shoestring budgets, violating government-declared Hajj packages. This years Hajj flights will begin on July 14. Hajj is likely to be held on August 21 this year, subject to the sighting of the moon.
