Ranajit Roy did not even spare cremation grounds

He had a brick-walled house with a corrugated tin roof on four decimals of land. He had inherited four bighas of land. Now he has seven multi-storey buildings, two flats, two plots and around 50 bighas of land. He would take commission for recruitment to educational institutions and from the TR (rural infrastructure maintenance)-Food for Work projects.

Local residents, victims as well as leaders and activists associated with Awami League say that over the past 15 years the Jashore-4 (Abhoynagar, Bagharpara and the Sadar upazila's Basundia union) member of parliament Ranajit Kumar Roy and his family amassed billions of taka by means of irregularities and corruption. He was elected on Awami League nomination as member of parliament to this seat in 2008, 2014 and 2018. Not availing Awami League nomination in the last Jatiya Sangsad (national parliament) election, he contested as an independent candidate and was defeated.

There are many allegations that Ranajit Kumar Roy would use his power to grab land, sometimes scaring people into selling their land for pittance, sometimes just taking it forcefully. Even people of the minority community lost land to him. No one dared to take him to court.

Members of the Hindu community in five surrounding villages would cremate their dead at the Khajura central cremation grounds by the river Chitra in Dhanyapura mouza of Bagharpara upazila. As they had no land of their own for the purpose, it was decided to collect funds from the people of the locality and buy 77 decimals of land near the crematory grounds. Ninety persons of five villages donated Tk 1.2 million (Tk 12 lakh) and another Tk 407,000 (Tk 4 lakh 7 thousand) was provided from the Khajura Bazar Mandir (temple) funds. But the land cost Tk 3.1 million (Tk 31 lakh). Ranajit Kumar Roy paid the remaining Tk 1,443,000 (Tk 14 lakh 4 thousand) and on 15 September 2020 made the owner write over 7 decimals of land of Dhanyapura mouza dag (number) 143 and 24 decimals of mouza dag 137 in his name. Then on 12 October 2020 he made the owner write over 46 decimals of land of the same mouza's dag 136 in his name.

A visit to the area sees that a brick structure has been constructed there by the river Chitra in Dhanyapura. Some concrete pillars have been erected in the brick structure. And the end of the structure near the river a concrete crematory had been made. Vegetables are being cultivated on the land bought adjacent to that.

Joydeb Banerjee of Dhayapara village said, "A total of 77 decimals of land were bought for the crematory grounds with funds collected from 90 persons of five villages. There was a shortfall in funds and MP Ranajit Kumar Roy paid that. But instead of registering the land in the name of the crematory grounds, he registered it in his own name. No one dared to protest. Every year Tk 30,000 is earned from the lease of the land. I collect the money, but the crematory committee general secretary Lintu Roy takes way that money on behalf of Ranajit."

President of the crematory committee Swapan Sarkar said, "The land was registered on two days in two deeds. I was not present during the registration. Later we heard that he registered the land in his own name saying that if it was registered in the name of the crematory, it would become government land. He said he would later write over the land to the crematory as the donor. But he has not done that so far."

Ranajit made schoolteacher Sushil Kumar Mullick of Chapatala village in Baghar upazila write over 10.5 bighas of land in his name. However, Sushil Kumar Mullick wasn't paid in full for the land. Sushil was later injured in a road accident. He went to India for treatment and died there on 1 February 2017. His wife's received death threats and for long remained in hiding. She left the country a year ago.

Md Abdullah of Mathurapur village, Baghapara handed over three decimals of land for the implementation of a water supply project under the Department of Public Health Engineering. As a condition to providing him with a job, Ranajit Kumar Roy made him write over that land in his name. It was said that if the project fell through, he would return the land. The project stated and Abdullah was given a job. But within 10 months the water and supply line was cut as it was not fit for use and then the project was shut down. Now Abdullah has no job and his land hasn't been returned.

Abdullah said, "I gave land from my homestead for the project, being assured of a job. But the MP had the land registered in his name. I worked for 10 months but only received Tk 50,000 as wages for five months. The project contractor gave me that money as my salary. Now the project has been shut down and I am out of a job. I was too scared to say anything all these days. Now I want my land back."

Ranajit Kumar Roy made the Bagharpara upazila Awami League joint secretary Hasan Ali (now general secretary) write over 5 bighas of land to a supporter of Ranajit, promising in exchange to ensure nomination with the 'boat' symbol in the fifth upazila parishad election. Hasan Ali lost the election. He then lodged a complaint with the prime minister's office. Ranajit was forced to return that land to Hasan Ali. Hasan Ali said, "I had spoken out about Ranajit Roy's misdeeds when the party was in power. I do not want to comment on the matter now."

Over the past 15 years not a single appointment was made to any educational institution in Bagharpara and Abhoynagar upazilas and Basundia union without Ranajit Roy's approval. He, his wife Niyati Roy and their two sons Rajeeb Roy and Sajeeb Roy were the chairpersons of at least 50 educational institutions.

Ranajit Kumar Roy was once the chairman of the Kori Bahumukhi Secondary School board of directors and his wife Niyati Rani Roy was twice the chairman of that school's board. During that time two persons were appointed as headmaster (one appointed when the other went on retirement), one as assistant headmaster, five teachers and six as employees. A persons who had been one of the members of the board back then said, first eight persons were appointed and then six. Ranajit Kumar Roy and his wife Niyati Rani Roy took over Tk 15 million (Tk 1.5 crore) from them.

Over the past 15 years commission would have to be paid to Ranajit Kumar Roy for  all the projects taken up for rural infrastructure maintenance (TR), Food for Money, and Food for Work programmes in Abhoynagar-Bagharpara upazila and the Sadar's Badundia union. In many cases the projects were just shown on paper, yet the entire funds were drawn.
Deputy office secretary of Bagharpara upazila Awami League, Nazrul Islam, said, "No one is aware of many TR, Food for Work, and Food for Money projects. MP Ranajit Kumar Roy would be paid a 50 per cent commission on the projects that were implemented. Now the dedicated and general leaders and activists of Awami League are bearing the brunt of his misdeeds."

From the wealth details submitted to the election commission during the last four elections, it has been gathered that over the past 15 years Ranajit Kumar Roy's wealth increased by 133 times. However, Ranajit Kumar Roy and his family own much more wealth than recorded in his election affidavits.

During the 2008 election, Ranajit Kumar Roy stated in his affidavit that he earned Tk 167,000 (Tk 1 lakh 67 thousand) annually from business and agriculture. His assets at the time totalled Tk 410,000 (Tk 4 lakh 10 thousand). These assets included four bighas of inherited land of Tk 100,000 (Tk 1 lakh) and a semi-brick house of Tk 50,000 at Khajura Bazar. His wife's wealth amounted to Tk 85,000. They owned no car. They had no houses in their names.

According to the affidavit submitted in 2024 for the parliament election, his annual income was recorded as Tk 4,285,783 (Tk 42 lakh 85 thousand 783). His total assets stood at Tk 54,851,000 (Tk 5 crore 48 lakh 51 thousand) in worth. This included 12 bighas of agricultural land of Tk 100,000 (Tk 1 lakh), a RAJUK plot in Dhaka's Purbachal worth Tk 3 million (Tk 30 lakh), a house valued at Tk 35,950,000 (Tk 3 crore 59 lakh 50 thousand) an SUV of Tk 2.3 million (Tk 23 lakh) and non-cultivable land of Tk 1 million (Tk 10 lakh). In other words, over one and a half decades his wealth shot up 133 times over.

In this span of time his wife's wealth went up by 375 times to Tk 31,875,298 (Tk 3 crore 18 lakh 75 thousand 298). This included three houses worth Tk 14,672,000 (Tk 1 crore 46 lakh 72 thousand), a Tk 5 million (Tk 50  lakh) flat and a car values at Tk 5.5 million (Tk 55 lakh). His wife previously had no income and still does not have any income.

Investigations reveal, Ranajit and wife Niyati Rani Roy have two houses on Rail Road in Jashore town. One of the houses is five storeys and Ranajit loves here. Around 500 yards from his house is a three-storey house owned by his wife Niyati Rani Roy. This has been rented out. The two-storey building in Lohapatti of the town is also owned by Ranajit Kumar. The ground floor has been rented out to business establishments. The upper floor has been rented out as a residence. Ranajit also owns two flats of 1,228 sq ft in the National Housing Authority's housing project in Jashore town's New Market area. He also has a two-storey house near the Bagharpara upazila parishad and a five-storey house by the river Chitra in Khajura Bazar.

Ranajit is constructing shop facilities on 26 decimals of land on the banks of the river Chitra, 500 yards from his Khajura Bazar house. This facility will accommodate 34 shops. Local people say that construction work came to a halt after 5 August. There is a three-room semi-brick house with a tin roof at Basuari village in the upazila. He has 1 acre 38.5 decimals of land there.

Then, in his sons' names, there is around four acres of cropland and a fish enclosure in Bil Jaleswar, Pukuria and crop land of one acre at Shaliat, Habulya. There is also a litchi orchard on 2 acres 12 decimals of land in his sons' names at Ghop in the Sadar upazila. He has a four-storey house on around 4.5 decimals of land at Naowapara Station Bazar of Abhoynagar upazila. The office of Ranajit Kumar Roy's business establishment Niyati Trade International Limited is housed at the ground floor of this building.
Sources of Abhoynagar upazila land office say that Ranajit Kumar Roy owns 4 decimals of land at the upazila's Guakhola mouza dag 1515, 1.75 decimals at dag 1515, 1.74 decimals at Buikora mouza dag 1616, 7.805 decimals at Naowapara mouza dag 2550 and 4.29 decimals of land at dag 2539 of the mouza. He purchased his land between the years 2020 and 2022. The cost of these lands recorded in five deeds totals Tk 11,801,000 (Tk 1 crore 18 lakh 1 thousand). Concerned persons say that among this, three plots of land along with a houses cost Tk 64 million (Tk 6 crore 40 lakh).

Ranajit Kumar Roy has been in hiding since the Awami League government fell on 5 August. His family members are also absconding. None of them could be reached over mobile phone either.