Ex-DMP commissioner Asaduzzam’s wife owns flats and land in Dhaka

The former commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Asaduzzaman Mia and his family reportedly own several plots, apartments and lands in Dhaka.

According to media reports, his wife owns a plot and two apartments and his daughter owns a flat in Dhaka. His wife and children own 67 decimals of land in Dhaka, Gazipur and Narayanganj while his family and kin own 166 decimals of land in these three districts.

Bengali Daily Manabzamin ran a report on Sunday on the immovable assets of Asaduzzaman Mia and his family. Prothom Alo reached the former police official over mobile phone on Monday. He said he is now abroad and had a nearly hour-long conversation with this correspondent.

During the conversation, Asaduzzaman Mia spoke about what assets have been purchased and why. He claimed all of the assets were bought with legally earned money. However, not all details that the Daily Manabzamin revealed are correct and details on his wealth have been mentioned in the income statement, he said.

Meanwhile, replying to a query on the media report on Asaduzzaman’s assets, Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) commissioner Md Jahurul Haque told Prothom Alo on Monday night he was not aware of the reports revealing details on Assaduzzaman Mia’s assets. It is not that if someone owns assets, it will always be illegal. If the ACC learns about the assets acquired beyond known sources by this former police official, the agency will take action.

Asaduzzaman Mia was the DMP commissioner from 2015 to 2019 before the government appointed him as the chief executive officer of the National Security Affairs Cell, where his contract ended in September 2022.

The news of Asaduzzaman Mia’s wealth came up at a time when the ACC is probing into the wealth of former inspector general of police Benazir Rahman and his family. Benazir Rahman along with his family left the country on 4 May before the ACC summoned them.

The courts also ordered to attach their 12 apartments in Dhaka and 697 bighas of land in various places of the country, as well as to confiscate saving certificates of 3 million taka, 33 bank accounts, shares of two companies including a private television channel and three beneficiary owner accounts.

According to the Daily Manabzamin report, Asaduzzaman Mia’s wife Afroza Zaman owns a six-storey house on a 10 katha plot of land on No. 166-167, Lane 1, Block L in the capital’s Bashundhra Residential Area. Asaduzzaman Mia told Prothom Alo the house was built with a bank loan.

Afroza Zaman also owns an apartment in the capital’s Eskaton and another in Dhanmondi. The former DMP commissioner confirmed the matter to Prothom Alo saying they first purchased the Eskaton flat and when their children were admitted to the schools in Dhanmondi they bought another flat in the area for the convenience of the children.

Other than this, Asaduzzaman’s daughter is the owner of an apartment in Siddeshwari. He told Prothom Alo his daughter and son-in-law are physicians and they purchased the apartment with the legally earned income.

A total of 106 decimals of land were purchased in the name of Asaduzzaman Mia’s wife Afroza Zaman in Chandkhola mouza of Kaliganj in Gazipur between 2017 and 2019 while another 28 decimal of lands were also purchased in her name in Kaiyamsail-Kayetpara mouza of Rupganj in Narayanganj in 2028 and another 32 decimal was also bought in the same mouza in that year.

Regarding this detail from the Mamabzamin report, Asaduzzaman Mia told Prothom Alo these lands were purchased using legally earned income. He and his wife inherited huge properties. One of his sons has a high-paying job at a multinational company and his daughter-in-law works at a bank with a high salary, His wife also runs a boutique.

The former DMP commissioner, according to the Manabzamin report, himself owns 10 kathas of land in Purbachal in the capital and his family members have 21 kathas in Aftabnagar while his younger son owns a house in Nikunja-1.

Regarding this, Asaduzzaman Mia told Prothom Alo he owns seven out of 21 kathas of land in Aftabnagr and his two sisters-in-law own the remaining land.

This former police official claimed he never followed any irregularity during his professional life, but a gang filed an allegation against him to the ACC several years ago in a bid to put him in danger. The ACC later found the allegation not to be true, and now that gang has been active again to put him in danger.

ACC lawyer Khurshid Alam, however, said information published in media on Asaduzzaman Mia’s assets should be verified. He told Prothom Alo on Monday night that information on immovable assets owned by a government service holder and his family members in Dhaka and several districts has been published, and that raised various questions among the public. Sources of this wealth should be found through detailed investigation and action should be taken if discrepancies between wealth and income are found.

This report appeared in the online edition of Prothom Alo and has been rewritten in English by Hasanul Banna