Alauddin Nasim: The ‘guardian’ of Awami godfathers

Alauddin Ahmed Chowdhury Nasim became an Awami League lawmaker from the Feni-1 constituency in the general election of 2024. He has been known to be the ‘guardian of Nizam Hazari’ in Feni since 2009.

Nasim, a former protocol officer of Sheikh Hasina, was the main patron behind Nizam Hazari’s rise from a cadre to 'godfather'. When he would go to Feni, Nizam Hazari would touch his feet in obeisance. Nizam Hazari would introduce Nasim as his guardian in the meetings and rallies. The posters and banners would mention him as the ‘guardian of Feni’. Although Nasim didn’t hold any major post in the government or the party, the local representatives and administrative officials were loyal to him.

This correspondent spoke to several people including political leaders to find the reasons behind Nasim being so influential in the area. They say he was already renowned in the area as the protocol officer of Sheikh Hasina. He was also known to be very close to Sheikh Rehana, Sheikh Hasina’s sister. He was also known to be ‘the fund manager’ among his peers.

Not only in Feni, he became a key figure in terms of promotion and posting in the public administration despite not having any vital post in the party or the government after the Awami League formed the government under the leadership of Sheikh Hasina in 2009. He also played a key role in protecting the interests of several business conglomerates, including some real estate businesses.

At the same time, Nasim developed a small clique with AL lawmaker Mirza Azam, Obaidul Muktadir Chowdhury, Bahauddin Nasim and former Chattogram mayor AJM Nasir Uddin, several sources in Dhaka confirmed.

Nasim served as the president of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) Chittagong University (CU) unit president from 1984 to 1986. He joined the admin cadre in 1986.

Nasim became the protocol officer of the then prime minister Sheikh Hasina after the Awami League came to power in 1996. He was appointed the protocol officer of the opposition leader after BNP formed the government in 2001. Later, he took voluntary retirement from government service.

He already had created multifaceted links and developed relationships with a number of influential persons while serving as the protocol officer of Sheikh Hasina.

Several complaints have already been filed with the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) against Alauddin Ahmed Chowdhury Nasim on the allegations of illegally amassing huge sums of money and laundering it abroad at different times over the last 15 years.

According to the affidavit that Alauddin Nasim submitted before the 12th general election, he and his wife together had properties worth Tk 1.08 billion. As per the affidavit, his annual income was more than Tk 30 million and his wife’s annual income was more than Tk 6.9 million.

However, the locals believe he has much more properties at home and abroad than the amount declared on the affidavit. His daughter lives in Canada.

Although Nasim grew powerful in Awami League’s politics in Feni, he was not much in the discussion in national politics. He was made an executive member of Awami League central committee in 2012. However, he was dropped from that post later.

Local political sources say Joynal Hazari, popularly known as a godfather, had unequivocal supremacy in Awami League’s politics in Feni once. However, he fled to India in the face of arrest drives conducted during the rule of caretaker government in 2001. He returned in 2009, after the Awami League came to power.

However, long before that, an initiative was taken to reform the Feni Awami League on 30 December 2008. Alauddin Nasim was the mastermind behind the initiative. He brought forward powerful cadre Nizam Hazari, once a follower of Joynal Hazari, in the reform process to obstruct Joynal Hazari.

However, journalist leader Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury secured the AL nomination from the Feni-2 constituency in the general election of 2008. Despites, landslide victory of the Awami League across the country, none of the AL nominated candidates in Feni won.

Meanwhile, Alauddin Nasim organised the party cadres in Feni using Nizam Hazari to establish unopposed supremacy in Feni politics after the AL came to power in 2009. There are also allegations against him of using the administration to establish Nizam Hazari as an influential figure.

He lobbied in the party and made Nizam Hazari, who was convicted in a case filed under the Arms Act, the mayor of Feni municipality as an Awami League nominated candidate in 2011. He was also behind making Nizam Hazari the general secretary of Feni district Awami League.

He is also accused of taking large sums of money from the party candidates in the three constituencies in Feni citing administrative expenditure during the national polls of 2014 and 2018.

Several Awami League leaders in Feni said people started making Nasim chief guest in most of the programmes after 2009. He would be mentioned as the ‘guardian of Feni district Awami League’ in the posters and banners of those programmes. The speakers at these programmes also would mention him as their ‘guardian’.

According to district Awami League sources, Alauddin Nasim would get a certain portion of the huge sum of money that Nizam Hazari earned from various sources by illegal means over the last 15 years.

Nasim is from the Guthuma village in the bordering upazila of Parshuram in Feni. The Bilonia land port also falls in the same upazila. This port is a hotspot for smuggling sarees and drugs into the country. Nasim’s younger brother Jalal Uddin Ahmed Chowdhury alias Pappu and his cousin and former Parshuram municipality mayor Nizam Uddin Ahmed Chowdhury alias Sajel used to control this border-based smuggling business. They also controlled the other sources of illegal income in the area, local sources say.

Sajel was elected the municipal mayor thrice. He was elected uncontested in the last two terms. So were the councillors of his panel. The news termed this as the ‘Feni style’ of election. There are allegations that Alauddin Nasim was the mastermind behind this.

Sajel had his own gang. Its members were involved in various sorts of criminal activities, including smuggling. There are allegations that even the members and activists of Awami League were tortured by this gang on several occasions.

Speaking to Prothom Alo, Parshuram upazila Awami League vice president Anadi Ranjan Saha said he was hospitalised after being beaten up by the members of this gang a few months ago. Anyone who dared open up about their activities of the gang would be picked up and tortured.

Following the fall of the Awami League government on 5 August, Alauddin Nasim, his brother Jalal Uddin Ahmed and cousin Sajel and their associates went into hiding. However, speaking to Prothom Alo over the phone, Jalal Uddin Ahmed Chowdhury claimed none of his family members was involved in any sort of criminal or illegal activities.

The Alauddin Ahmed Chowdhury Nasim College in the Chittholia area of Parshuram upazila was founded in 2017. There are allegations that Alauddin Nasim’s associates grabbed lands from the locals at a minimal price for the college in 2016. Later, they grabbed around 30 acres of land surrounding the college.

The victims, the lands were taken from them forcefully through intimidation. Prothom Alo spoke to eight of the victims. They said Nasim’s associates took over the land just by hoisting red flags surrounding the lands. They were told that the land had been acquired by the government. However, it was found later that the land was not acquired; rather it was taken over illegally.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, one of the victims told Prothom Alo, “They forcefully took over a 1.5-bigha-land owned by our family. Although the market value of the land was Tk 1.5 million, we were paid only Tk 500,000.

Another victim named Mosleh Uddin told Prothom Alo that Alauddin Nasim has grabbed around 3.5 bighas of land owned by his family. The market value of the land is around Tk 5 million. However, his family has been paid only Tk 300,000.

Visiting the area in person, this correspondent found that six big ponds have been dug in the lands outside the college infrastructures for fish farming. Trees have been planted over a large area. Locals say Alauddin Nasim had a plan to build a farmhouse there.

However, Nasim claimed to Prothom Alo over the phone that he has no connection with Nizam Hazari’s rise. He had been inactive in Feni’s politics since 2012. He became the Awami League candidate from the Feni-1 constituency in the general election of 2024.

Speaking regarding the allegations of forcefully founding the college, he said most of those were fallow lands. The locals voluntarily donated those lands for the college. He also claimed to have paid more than the market value for these lands. He denied the allegation of being involved in any commission business.

Many of the civil society still don’t feel safe and comfortable speaking regarding the criminalisation of politics in Feni.

Speaking to Prothom Alo, Shushasoner Jonno Nagorik Feni (SHUJAN) Feni district general secretary Mohammad Shahadat Hossain told Prothom Alo that Joynal Hazari was godfather of criminalised politics in Feni. After him, Alauddin Nasim played an important role in the reform of Feni district Awami League. He replaced Joynal Hazari with Nizam Hazari. Nizam would call Nasim his guardian.

*This report appeared on the print and online versions of Prothom Alo and has been rewritten in English by Ashish Basu