Benazir’s Rupganj house is a mystery to locals

The duplex house on a 24-katha-plot has the Demra-Ichhapur (Rupganj) road on one side and the artificial lake of the nearby Ananda Housing Society on the other. That house in the Dakkhin Bagh area in Rupganj upazila of Narayanganj is owned by former inspector general of police (IGP) Benazir Ahmed.

He purchased the 55 decimals of land from the sons of late Premananda Sarker at a cost of Tk 18.3 million eight years ago. He built the house there some four years ago. The house remains a mystery among the locals as various sorts of stories and rumours have spread surrounding it.

This correspondent visited the area last Thursday. The main wooden entrance of the house has intrinsic designs. The entire building is under CCTV surveillance with a central air-conditioning system. The house is guarded by two dogs.

Seeing this correspondent, the caretaker of the house Abdullah came out from a room beside the main gate. He said he has been looking after the house over the last one and a half months. None from Benazir Ahmed’s family visited the house in between.

Several cages for birds and different local breeds of chickens inside the house could be seen from outside. Some of those cages were empty. Besides, there were several fruit, flower and medicinal trees inside the compound.

Asked about any chance of getting inside the house, Abdullah said, “Although I am the caretaker of the house, I am not allowed to enter. Only family members of the former IGP have the keys.”

Some teenagers were swimming in the lake beside the house. Speaking to this correspondent, one of them said, “I heard the interior of the house is like a royal palace. All the furniture of the house is from abroad. I also heard that many of those have been shifted after Benazir fled the country.”

A 15-year-old teen said, “I wish I could enter the house.” Asked why, he said, “There is a bathroom inside the house entirely made of glass. I heard the bathroom is even bigger than our house. That’s why I want to see the bathroom with my own eyes.”

A few families live some 300 metres south to the house owned by Benazir. This correspondent spoke to some of the residents there.

Abdul Gani of Kurigram has been living there for the last 17 years. Benazir’s duplex house can be seen from his house. Benazir used to visit the house with a convoy very often. The members of police used to close down the road along the house for public movement to ensure tight security. Benazir was often accompanied by famous or new singers, actors and actresses. Benazir used to host musical sessions on those days in that house. Although the loud music blasting out of the house disturbed the locals, no one dared to raise their voice.

However, Abdul Gani didn’t see any convoy over the last two months at least. There has been no light inside the house for the last three days either, he said.

Speaking to Prothom Alo, a woman nearby said on condition of anonymity, “This land was once owned by some Hindu families. First, the housing authorities showed up and filled up the land forcefully. Later, Benazir purchased the land by force. He used to enjoy his leisure time here. However, he never hired any locals. He never allowed the locals to enter the house either. As a result, we have no idea about what’s inside the house or who visits it. The entire house is a complete mystery to us.”

Local resident Arshad Ali said the entire house and adjacent areas are under CCTV surveillance. They don’t dare even to walk past the house due to the dogs and rough behaviour of the security guards.

Some 22 Hindu families live some 500 yards south of Benazir's house. Locals say Benazir forced those families to sell their lands for his house, locals say.

This correspondent spoke to Ramdhan Sarker, son of the late Premananda Sarker, Friday afternoon. He and his three brothers inherited a 55-decimal water body as ancestral properties. The water body was filled up by force in the name of Ananda Housing without any payment. Some four years after that, they sold the land through an agent at a price of Tk 10 million per bigha.

Speaking to Prothom Alo, one of Ramdhan’s neighbour, who is a carpenter by profession said he was called up inside Benazir’s house a few times for some errands. He was totally flabbergasted the first time he went inside.

He was saying, “The stairs are made of glass. My legs were shaking the first time I used those stairs. The bathroom is bigger than our house. The entire bathroom is made of glass and air-conditioned. The gateman of the house told me that a land trader from Naora (a village in Kayetpara union of the Rupganj upazila) brought furniture for the house from abroad.”

However, he refused to be named out of fear. Asked why he was still afraid when Benazir was absconding, the carpenter said, “There are many more Benazirs in this Rupganj alone. Although people like Benazir flee the country, they don’t lose power. They can crush people like us like mosquitoes even if they are not in the country.”

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