Mirza Azam was all in all in Jamalpur

None of the lawmakers or Awami League leaders or any administrative officials have the courage to go against him. He would control everything from government contracts to party nominations and committees.

The person is Mirza Azam, former lawmaker of Bangladesh Awami League from the Jamalpur-3 constituency. Within 16 years, his wealth grew massive. The people, who did not dare to speak in the last 16 years, are opening up now and information of various sorts of irregularities and unjustified activities under his “reign” have started surfacing up.

Mirza Azam made properties worth billions including land, houses, flats, businesses in different parts of the country including Dhaka in the names of each member of his family.

Mirza Azam was known to all as a transport contractor of the Directorate General of Food. He became a lawmaker for the first time in 1991 from the Jamalpur-3 constituency as an Awami League candidate. He didn’t have to look back after that.

He was elected a member of the parliament (MP) from that constituency for seven consecutive times. He is now the organising secretary of the Awami League. He also served as the textile and jute minister and the general secretary of the central unit of Awami Jubo League.

Mirza Azam and the members of his family have been hiding since the fall of the Awami League government on 5 August. Locals say he left the country. However, the information could not be confirmed.

According to the affidavit submitted by Mirza Azam ahead of the general elections of 2008, Mirza Azam’s wife Aleya Begum had movable and immovable assets worth more than Tk 3.7 million. These include a six-decimal-land worth Tk 1 million and 2.19 acres of farmland worth Tk 370,000. There was no mention of any bank account, business firm and savings certificates on her name in the affidavit.

However, his affidavit submitted before the general elections of 2024 said his wife owned movable and immovable assets worth more than Tk 295 million, including a flat worth Tk 23.6 million, two buildings worth Tk 30 million and a business capital of more than Tk 11.6 million.

According to the sub-registrar office of Jamalpur, Aleya has a total of 10.26 acres of land in four mouza’s of the Jamalpur city. Besides, there are 42 decimals of lands in the Deurpar Chandra and Palashgarh mouzas in the name of her elder daughter Mirza Afia Azam. Two different names – Dewan Aleya and Mrs. Aleya Azam - were used in the deeds of these lands owned by Mirza Azam’s wife.

Besides, there is a luxurious house named Aleya Cottage near the municipality building of Jamalpur in the name of Aleya Azam. That house was burnt after vandalising and looting on 5 August.

Willing not to be named, at least seven local Awami Leaders said Aleya Azam, with the help of former Jamalpur municipality mayor Sanwar Hossain and district Awami League cultural affairs secretary Narayan Paul Rana, used to secure party posts, occupy lands, lobby to transfer officials of different departments and get commissions from different government projects.

Convincing Aleya meant convincing Mirza Azam. Not only in Jamalpur, Aleya had a massive influence in Awami League’s politics in Netrakona too.

Both Sanwar Hossain and Narayan Paul are currently into hiding. Their phones were also found switched off. Therefore, it was not possible to get their comments regarding these allegations.

There is a park named ‘Aleya Garden’ on an eight-acre land in the Deurpar Chandra area of the city owned by Mirza Azam’s wife. There are allegations that lands owned by poor people were forcefully occupied for the construction of the park. Those who denied giving the land were subjected to police torture.

This correspondent visited the park on 14 September and saw a wall was being constructed at the main gate of the park. The entire park has been vandalised. The locals still didn’t dare open up against Mirza Azam.

Monjurul Haque, former president of the AL unit in ward-12 of Jamalpur municipality, said, “I sold 13 decimal of land for the park. However, district Awami League vice president Sohrab Hossain and cultural affairs secretary Narayan Paul forcefully occupied another 13 decimal of land while constructing the boundary wall for the park. I went to Mirza Azam several times but for nothing.”

He has another two-acre land on the eastern side of the park. Mirza Azam put immense pressure on him to get the land.

“We had a fish farm on that land. My son used to look after the farm. Then one night, local police picked up my son and beat him indiscriminately. Later, they picked up my son two more times on a false allegation of having illegal arms and drugs,” Monjurul Haque said.

Jasim Uddin, a youth from the Deurpar Chandra area, had a 52-decimal-land in the area. His father Abdul Jalil used to run the family through farming on that land. At first, Mirza Azam’s aides proposed an exchange of properties. Later, they promised to ensure a job for Jalil’s son, daughter and son-in-law. After that, Abdul Jalil agreed to give the entire land for the park.

Speaking to Prothom Alo, Abdul Jalil’s son Jasim Uddin said, “We are poor. My father gave him (Mirza Azam) the land, trusting him. The daag number of some 16 decimal of the land we got in exchange was wrong. As a result we haven’t got the land yet. They promised to give us jobs. We didn’t get any jobs either.”

Mirza Azam is accused of occupying lands of several people other than them, including Bidyut Begum, her sister Rekha Begum, Hannan Mia, Mizanur Rahman, Khorshed Alam and Abdur Rashid.

Aleya Garden’s caretaker Hasan Sheikh told Prothom Alo none from the owner’s side came to the park after the fall of the previous government. However, a wall is being erected at the gate of the park at the instruction of the owner. He has been asked to look after the park until everything gets back to normal.

Asked about the allegations of forcefully occupying lands for the construction of the park, Hasan Sheikh said, “My cousins also gave lands for the parks. They have been given land elsewhere in exchange. They promised a government job to one of my cousins. However, he didn’t get any government job.”

There are allegations against Mirza Azam of building a lavish recreation centre named Jamalpur Recreation Club on a four-acre-land closing down the dumping station of the municipality by forcefully occupying the land with the money of two government agencies.

The club is located in the Palashgarh area of the city. Even a road in the area was closed for the construction of the club. The then home minister Asaduzzaman Khan inaugurated the club on 12 March 2023.  There are 470 members of the club. The club authorities took Tk 500,000 from each member. Most of the members of the club include contractors, Awami League leaders, local public representatives, followers of Mirza Azam and local rich and elites.

The club hosted only non-political programmes and used to sell liquor. Besides, the members of the club used to play housie games. After the fall of the Awami League government, the enraged people vandalised and looted the club and set it on fire. The activities of the club were closed for long after that.

Another 10-storey building of the club is under construction. A convening committee consisting of other members of the club has been formed to reopen the club and complete the construction of the new building.

Jamalpur municipality former mayor Sanwar Hossain built the boundary wall, a connecting road and a drain for the club through two government projects worth Tk 42.6 million. The projects were taken showing a dumping station of the municipality on that land. Besides, a huge gate for the club is under construction. The Jamalpur Zila Parishad is providing more than Tk 8.8 million for the construction of the gate.

Local resident Harun-ar-Rashid told Prothom Alo, “The club used to run illicit activities in the name of selling liquor and housie games. They picked me up and had beaten me indiscriminately for protesting the activities of the club.”

Muraduzzaman, a resident of Ramnagar village, told Prothom Alo, “My wife and four others owned 1.10 acres of land inside the club. When the club was under construction, Mirza Golam Kibria called me to the residence of Mirza Azam on 20 September, 2021. There, Mirza Azam told me the land is classified as khas (government property). Claiming to have all the legal documents, he said, 'If you're not alive, what will you do with land or money?' They then brought my wife in a car and forced her to register the land. After the downfall of the government, I filed a case in court to cancel the registration."

Responding to various allegations about the club, the authorities held a press conference on 14 September and claimed that it was built in compliance with all rules, and no one’s land was grabbed. They said 1.31 acres of land were purchased, and the remaining 3.16 acres were taken on lease from the municipality.

Jahangir Salim, general secretary of the Jamalpur district corruption prevention committee, said the club was established for entertainment in the backward district, with significant funds from the municipality and district council.

When asked about the club, Shitesh Chandra, former additional deputy commissioner and municipality administrator of Jamalpur, said appropriate actions would be taken after investigation.

In 2013, Mirza Azam established a private university – Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib University – in a building in the Nayapara area of Jamalpur district town. It is run by a board of trustees.

Some 16.5 acres of khas land in the Naobhangarchar area along the Brahmaputra River were taken on lease to build its permanent campus. There are allegations that the land was grabbed destroying residences of more than a hundred families.

Abul Kalam, one of the victims, alleged that the authorities in 2019 started to prepare the char area for constructing the university campus. The sand was dumped onto the lands of poor residents of the locality. At one stage, the lands were grabbed forcefully, evicting the residences.

Some other victims said Awami League leaders and activists, under the orders of Mirza Azam and supervision of former mayor Sanwar, took control of the lands forcefully, without providing any compensation.

In this regard, Shafiur Rahman, the newly appointed deputy commissioner, said there will surely be legal actions if the allegations of land occupation are found to be substantiated in investigations.

According to affidavits, Mirza Azam’s annual income was Tk 448,185 during the 9th national election, while it rose to Tk 36 million during the 12th national election. He had a cash deposit of Tk 2.3 million during the 2008 elections, and it rose to Tk 225 million during the 12th national elections, along with investments in stocks.

His total movable assets in 2023 amounted to Tk 356 million, while the immovable assets were valued at Tk 311 million.

As per the 12th national election affidavit, Mirza Azam owns 17.63 acres of agricultural land valued at Tk 56 million, around 1.5 acres of non-agricultural land worth Tk 128 million, two buildings worth Tk 112 million, and one flat valued at Tk 3.61 million. Besides, he owns a two-story house in the Bakultala area of Jamalpur town.

According to party insiders and associates, Mirza Azam owns an 8,200 square foot flat in the capital’s Dhanmondi area. a seven-story building at Baridhara, and a 12-story commercial building at Mirpur.

He also had a six-story building in Dhanmondi, most of which has been sold. He owns another building in Ashulia, which is now rented to a garment factory. His wife, Aleya, owns a six-story house in Netrakona.

Apart from those, Azam sold his shares in two commercial ships. He had investments in a hotel in Cox’s Bazar. Also, he is also involved in broadband internet, apartment, and contact business.

Azam, along with his three brothers – Golam Kibria, former mayor of Madarganj municipality; contractor and businessman Mirza Golam Rabbani; and Mirza Zillur Rahman, youth and sports secretary of Jamalpur town Awami League—reportedly hold shares in three power plants. However, Prothom Alo could not confirm it independently.

Mirza Azam and his relatives allegedly controlled the development projects of all government institutions in the district, including public health engineering, public works, roads and highways, LGED, and the education engineering directorate. They used to select the contractors for government projects.