Addl DIG’s ‘endless’ assets, real estate business, resort

He is a police official by profession currently serving as the additional deputy inspector general (DIG) of police. However, he has real estate businesses in the suburbs of the capital. He also has a bungalow over a 12-bigha-land and a resort in the heart of the river Meghna. There is a veterinary medicine factory in his wife’s name in addition to the lands she owned in different areas across the Rupganj upazila. He is Gazi Mozammel Haque who made this fortune while serving the police force for 26 years.

It has been found during investigation that this top police official has a real-estate business named ‘Ananda Police Housing Society’ over some 1,200 bighas of land in Rupganj of Narayanganj. There is another company named ‘Ananda Properties Limited’ in his wife Farzana Mozammel’s name. Farzana also owns at least 80 bighas of land in different ‘mouzas’ across Rupganj.

Police Headquarter sources say Gazi Mozammel Haque joined the force as an assistant superintendent of police (ASP) in 1998. He was still posted in the ‘development’ unit at the Police Headquarters over the 15 years of Awami League rule.

He served in the same unit even after being promoted as the additional DIG. The main task of this unit is to look after land related issues of the force. He was transferred to the anti-terrorism unit on 1 January.

According to the information available on the official website of Ananda Police Housing Society, the project was launched in 2007. Since then, nearly 1,200 bighas of lands in Rupganj have been registered in the name of this project.

Several relevant sources say Gazi Mozammel started purchasing lands in 2006. A year later, he formed ‘Ananda Police Family Welfare Multipurpose Cooperative Society’ with some retired and serving police officials. Following that, he launched a real estate business under the name - Police Housing Society. Gazi Mozammel is the project director.

The Police Headquarters has confirmed that the police have no project under this name.

Several relevant sources say the word ‘police’ was deliberately used in the project name for commercial benefits. Former IGP Benazir Ahmed also has a plot in this project, which has already been confiscated by the Anti-corruption Commission (ACC).

There are several police officials and their relatives among the buyers of the plots in the Police Housing Society. There are also allegations of not handing over the lands to the buyers even after full payment. At least 10 police officials at different levels made such accusations.

There are also allegations of forceful occupation of lands for the project. Several victims in Rupganj said the project authorities grabbed their land by force. They were even assaulted for protesting. Besides, false extortion and fraud cases were lodged to harass them.

Mozammel’s wife Farzana Mozammel is the managing director of Ananda Properties Limited on paper. The company got registration on 16 June 2013. As per the documents, Fazana owns 13,500 of the 15,000 shares of the company, which is 90 per cent of the total share. Two other persons own the remaining 1,500 shares of the company. It has been learnt that those two persons are employees of the company.

Meanwhile, Farzana purchased around 68 bighas of lands in Rupganj on behalf of the Ananda Properties. In addition, she has lands directly in her name too.

Gazi Mozammel Haque claims the police housing project is run by a cooperative society formed by some police officials. However, it is not possible to purchase lands in the name of a cooperative society. This is why the lands were purchased in his wife’s name. Most of these lands have already been handed over to the housing authorities. The remaining of those lands will be handed over gradually, he said.

Farzana Mozammel owns a veterinary medicine plant in Demra of the capital named Bridge Pharmaceutical. There is Mozammel Haque’s name on the nameplate on the front gate of the factory.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a factory official said, “We have been producing medicines at this plant for the last 10 years. Farzana Mozammel is the managing director of the company. However, it is Mozammel sir who looks after everything.”

Gazi Mozammel Haque built a bungalow on a 12-bigha-land in Rupganj. This correspondent spoke to one of the security guards of the bungalow named Md Badshah Mia at the main entrance on 9 January. He said there are three security guards in total. They look after the house in three shifts around the clock. They have not seen the owner for over a month.

Mozammel Haque claims he built the house with the money that he earned from a United Nations (UN) Mission.

Khaas land occupied for resort

The river Meghna flows along the Dakshin Haripur village in Barakanda union in Meghna upazila of Cumilla. Gazi Mozammel dredged the river to set up a resort and a farm over the river.

Visiting the area on 8 January, this correspondent found an under-construction resort surrounded by water. It needs a boat to reach there. Four ponds have been dug inside the resort for fish farming with two rooms for living. At one side, there were two large open stages to hold cultural functions. The work on a coffee shop and a food corner is underway. The remaining space has been used for fruit and vegetable cultivation. The employees at the resort say the resort will be commercially open very soon.

The resort is not very far away from this police official’s village home. There are allegations that he even grabbed khaas lands to build this resort.

However, Gazi Mozammel claimed to Prothom Alo that this was not a resort. He is using the establishment for fruits and vegetable cultivation and fish farming. Of the nearly 60-bigha-land of the resort, six bighas of lands are registered in his daughter's name. He leased a portion of this land from his relatives and another portion was purchased in his name and his two brothers’.

Mozammel admitted that the property includes around 35 decimal khaas land. He said he has appealed to the deputy commissioner (DC) to lease that portion of the land.

Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) executive director Iftekharuzzaman feels it is not possible for a police official to make such a huge fortune with legal income. He told Prothom Alo, “Corruption has taken a sort of institutional form and former police chief Benazir Ahmed is at the helm of this.”

He said exemplary punishment should be ensured for the people involved in corruption so that others do not dare doing that.

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