A man who introduced himself as the MP of Naogaon-2 and managed to get an industrial gas connection has now been recognised as an impostor by Petrobangla. Saifuzzaman Bablu, the ‘fake MP’, was handed over to Tejgaon police yesterday. Bablu’s connection was approved by a high-powered committee headed by Dr Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury, the energy adviser to the Prime Minister. The new connection to SIEM Re Rolling Mills has been ordered to be cancelled, sources told The Independent.

“He (Bablu) came to my room and gave me a visiting card that introduced him as an MP. He pushed me to make a call to the managing director of Titas Gas for an industrial load increase. I refused. But he kept pressuring me. I suspected that something was amiss and checked the government website. I realised at once that he was no MP,” said Mostafa Kamal, the director (admin) of Petrobangla. “Under pressure, Bablu finally admitted that he was not an MP. We handed him over to the police and filed a complaint,” he added.

“Bablu had been coming to Petrobangla since March. He always introduced himself as the MP of Naogaon. He sure got some respect as an MP,” admitted Jameel A Aleem, director (operation and mines). Sources said Bablu managed to get an industrial connection for SIEM Re Rolling Mills, and the application for the connection was recommended by “a minister”. “What could we do when a minister had recommended the connection?” argued a director of Petrobangla. Petrobangla has now instructed Titas Gas to cancel all activities of the mill.