Land graft slur on HAAB panel

Former leaders of Hajj Agencies Association of Bangladesh (HAAB), yesterday, accused the present committee of embezzling Tk. 9 crore in a land deal. They alleged that HAAB’s present executive committee, comprising Sheikh Abdullah, Ibrahim Bahar Majumder and others, had procured 330 decimals of land for “HAAB Palli” at Amin Bazar in Savar upazila, for Tk. 12 crore. However, the land’s actual value was only Tk 3 crore, they added.
They further alleged that the land was bought without approval of the HAAB annual general meeting. “I was never present at the procurement committee meeting. There was huge corruption in the name of land procurement,” Syed Golam Sarwar, member of the land procurement committee, said. The allegations against the present HAAB committee were made at a city meeting, chaired by Abdus Sobhan Bhuiyan Hasan, owner of Binimoy Travels and Tours. Among others, president of the Association of Travel Agents Bangladesh (ATAB), SN Manzur Mahbub, ATAB secretary general Aslam Khan, Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA) senior-vice president Md Firoz, Bangladesh Hajj Passenger and Haji Welfare Council president, Abdullah Al Naser, former presidents of HAAB, Abdus Shakur and Jamal Uddin Ahmed, member of land procurement committee of HAAB, Syed Golam Sarwar, founder secretary-general of HAAB, Yakub Sharafati, and former secretary-general of HAAB, MM Rashid Shah Samrat, also spoke at the meeting. They urged the Anti-corruption Commission (ACC) to investigate the land deal and take action against the guilty. On their part, the accused committee members dismissed the charges as a ploy, by their rivals, to tarnish their image, ahead of the HAAB executive election in April. “The allegations are baseless and motivated. The present market value of land at Amin Bazar is over Tk. 1.20 crore per bigha. So, the opposition is trying to woo voters by spreading such canards against the present committee,” Sheikh Abdullah, general secretary of HAAB, told The Independent.

Land graft slur on HAAB panel

Former leaders of Hajj Agencies Association of Bangladesh (HAAB), yesterday, accused the present committee of embezzling Tk. 9 crore in a land deal. They alleged that HAABs present executive committee, comprising Sheikh Abdullah, Ibrahim Bahar Majumder and others, had procured 330 decimals of land for HAAB Palli at Amin Bazar in Savar upazila, for Tk. 12 crore. However, the lands actual value was only Tk 3 crore, they added. They further alleged that the land was bought without approval of the HAAB annual general meeting. I was never present at the procurement committee meeting. There was huge corruption in the name of land procurement, Syed Golam Sarwar, member of the land procurement committee, said. The allegations against the present HAAB committee were made at a city meeting, chaired by Abdus Sobhan Bhuiyan Hasan, owner of Binimoy Travels and Tours. Among others, president of the Association of Travel Agents Bangladesh (ATAB), SN Manzur Mahbub, ATAB secretary general Aslam Khan, Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA) senior-vice president Md Firoz, Bangladesh Hajj Passenger and Haji Welfare Council president, Abdullah Al Naser, former presidents of HAAB, Abdus Shakur and Jamal Uddin Ahmed, member of land procurement committee of HAAB, Syed Golam Sarwar, founder secretary-general of HAAB, Yakub Sharafati, and former secretary-general of HAAB, MM Rashid Shah Samrat, also spoke at the meeting. They urged the Anti-corruption Commission (ACC) to investigate the land deal and take action against the guilty. On their part, the accused committee members dismissed the charges as a ploy, by their rivals, to tarnish their image, ahead of the HAAB executive election in April. The allegations are baseless and motivated. The present market value of land at Amin Bazar is over Tk. 1.20 crore per bigha. So, the opposition is trying to woo voters by spreading such canards against the present committee, Sheikh Abdullah, general secretary of HAAB, told The Independent.