Fazle Karim Chowdhry unleased a reign of terror in Raozan

ABM Fazle Karim Chowdhury, former Awami League lawmaker for Chattogram-6 (Raozan), was a veritable ‘king’ of his own realm during the reign of his party. He not only made leaders and activists of opposition parties flee their homes, but also his dissenters from his own party had to run away from their homes. He virtually shattered the local government system in his constituency as none outside his own men were allowed to be elected in any public office. He grabbed public and private lands to build markets and farmhouses. There are also allegations against him of killing opponents and carrying out enforced disappearances.

Fazle Karim Chowdhury became reckless since he was elected member of parliament in 2014. None would dare oppose him. Apart from politicians, over 200 teachers and officials had to flee from their workplaces in fear of Fazle Karim Chowdhury. He had a gang of 70 to 80 men. He is accused of demolishing 46 offices of a spiritual organisation. Many who had to flee the area are now returning and some even filing cases. Some victims encircled the prison van carrying Fazle Karim in Chattogram court premises recently.

Victims have brought these allegations against Fazle Karim.

Before 1996, Fazle Karim was involved with politics of National Democratic Party (NDP), known for its anti-Awami League stance, led by Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury who was hanged for crimes against humanity during 1971. Fazle Karim is a cousin of Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury. Fazle Karim secured the nomination of Awami League in the election held in 1996 but lost by a huge margin. He then got elected MP for Awami League from 2001 to 2024 on a trot. He was elected MP unopposed in the 2014 and 2014 elections.

Faraz Karim’s political clout and wealth both increased exponentially during the reign of Awami League. In 15 years of Awami League, his wealth increased 11 times.

Fazle Karim went into hiding after the fall of Hasina government in a student-mass uprising on 5 August. On 12 September, he was arrested by Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) at Akhaura border in Brahmanbaria while fleeing to India. A total of 12 cases over murder and land grabbing were filed against Fazle Karim who is currently incarcerated at Chattogram jail. The local administration is preparing a list of land illegally grabbed by him.

After being MP unopposed in 2014, a trend of getting elected unopposed appeared in almost all local government elections in Raozan.
In 2016, 11 out of 16 union parishads got union chairman without any election. In 2021 chairman in every 14 unions was elected unopposed. During the upazila parishad elections in 2019 and 2023, all three posts of chairman, vice chairman and female vice chairman got unopposed representatives.

Chattogram north district’s member secretary Abdullah Al Hasan won in Raozan pourashava election in 2011 to become mayor, but he could not go to the pourashava. He died in 2018. District north unit Awami League’s joint secretary Debashish Palit got Awami League’s nomination in the pourashava election instead of the candidate of Fazle Karim. Debashish was elected but could not go to the pourashava area due to the influence of Fazle Karim. His associate Jamir Uddin, president of upazila Jubo League, got elected unopposed in 2021. Other councilors were also elected unopposed.

Leaders and activists of BNP and its associate bodies in Raozan upazila were forced to leave the locality due to obstruction, attacks and cases by the associates of Fazle Karim for the last 15 years.

BNP vice chairman Giasuddin Quader Chowdhury said, "I myself could not go to the locality let alone the common leaders and activists. After the fall of the government, BNP leaders and activists brought out procession and held rallies publicly."

Fazle Karim drove BNP leaders and activists as well as many leaders and activists of his own party. The leaders and activists including Chattogram north district Awami League joint secretary Abul Kalam Azad, joint secretary Debashis Palit, upazila Awami League former general secretary Muslim Uddin Khan and organising secretary Saiful Islam Chowdhury.

Muslim Uddin Khan was forced to leave the locality as he wanted to contest upazila election against the opinion of Fazle Karim. Others were forced to leave the locality for going against his opinions.

Speaking to Prothom Alo, Debasish Palit said, "Like the opposition leaders, I would go into hiding despite being elected by the people. If anyone would liked or commented on my posts, they were held and assaulted. Fazle Karim made devoid of leaders and activists."

Saiful Islam Chowdhury said, "The followers of Fazle Karim carried out attacks on my home as I bought nomination forms for mayoral election. Since that time, I was out of the locality. I even could go to offer prayers for my deceased parents."

Muhammad Musa, 45, is general secretary of a BNP unit in Oman came home in February and went to the village to offer prayers for his deceased parents. His brother Mohammad Sohel said the followers of Fazle Karim beat up Musa and drove from the mosque. His brother died from beating. The killers left body of his brother near the mosque.

On 1 September, Sumi Akhtar, the wife of former central Chhatra Dal assistant general secretary Nurul Alam, filed a case at the Chawkbazar police station over her husband's murder. In the case, 17 individuals, including Fazle Karim Chowdhury, have been named as accused. The complaint states that Nurul Alam was taken away by individuals claiming to be police officers from his home on the night of 29 March 2017.

The following day, his body with eyes, hands and legs bound was found near the Karnaphuli River in his hometown of Raozan.

Speaking to Prothom Alo, Sumi Akhtar said, "Fazle Karim has made my three children orphans. I couldn't file a case so long."

The families of the deceased claim that Fazle Karim is involved in the murders of Mozammel Haque and Muhammad Suman in 2013, Abul Hashem in 2015, freedom fighter Nurul Azim in 2019, and Jubo Dal leader Abdur Rashid in 2020 in Bagwan of the upazila.

Fazle Karim is also accused of abducting Azim Uddin Mahmud, a former Jubo League leader who went missing from Chattogram in 2010, and Abu Jafar, a former chairman of the Bagwan union parishad, who has been missing since 2011. Abu Jafar was reportedly taken away in a microbus. The whereabouts of both individuals remain unknown.

In the Fakir Takiya area of Raozan municipality, Fazle Karim Chowdhury established a garden retreat on 5 acres of land in 2015. The area is enclosed by a grill fence and features two bungalows, a cattle farm, and enclosures for animals, birds, and deer. Following the fall of the government, the location was attacked by aggrieved individuals.

Md Ridwanul Islam, the assistant commissioner (Land) of Raozan upazila, said 2.38 acres of the 5-acre garden retreat is classified as government khas land. It is also alleged that the remaining land was grabbed by taking several local residents into hostage.

There are allegations of occupying 80 decimals (0.8 acres) of forest department land for the garden house. Ujjal Kanti Majumdar, the upazila forest officer of Raozan, told Prothom Alo that the land was occupied before he assumed office.

Local resident Bakhtiar Uddin said Fazle Karim has grabbed 140 decimal (1.4 acres) of his ancestral land at the garden house. Similarly, two local brothers, Tofail Ahmed and Zafar Ahmed, have lost 80 decimals of their land. Additionally, land belonging to another individual named Nurul Islam has also been taken for the garden retreat.

Fazle Karim has built a petrol station by encroaching land owned by local residents, registering the property without compensating the landowners.

On 23 September, a lawsuit was filed in a Chattogram court against Fazle Karim, his two sons Faraz Karim Chowdhury and Farhan Karim Chowdhury, among others, by local resident Islam Mia for land grabbing in the forest area of the upazila.

Allegations have surfaced that under Fazle Karim's direction, government and privately owned lands have been occupied to establish Awami League offices across 14 unions in Raozan.

When asked about the various allegations against Fazle Karim, his wife, Rizwana Yusuf, told Prothom Alo that these are all conspiracies and that there is no evidence to support the claims.

She said that her husband is not involved in any abduction or murder and that he has contributed to the development of Raozan.

Fazle Karim is accused of occupying 15 decimals of government khas land and land belonging to the roads and highways department to build a three-storey building in the Noapara Patharhat market of the upazila. The ground floor of the building houses a community center and 12 shops, while multiple banks and businesses are located on the upper floors.

About 500 meters west of this building, a new two-storey structure has been completed.

Businessmen said that it was constructed on land unlawfully taken from the roads and highways department. Local union parishad chairman Mohammad Babul Mia and several others allegedly collaborated with Fazle Karim to build this structure. The 25 shops in the building have reportedly been sold for around Tk 4 to 4.5 million each.

In a similar manner, another two-storey commercial complex has also been established on government land nearby with the help of party affiliates. There are also allegations against Fazle Karim for constructing a three-storey building on government land in the Halda Bridge area of the Rangamati-Raozan road.

Muhammad Ridwanul Islam, the assistant commissioner (Land) of Raozan upazila, told Prothom Alo that a list of occupied government land of several markets and roadsides in the upazila is being compiled. Action to reclaim these lands will be taken up soon.

Lecturer of the management department of Gohira College in Raozan, Golam Faruk, could not attend the college any longer after a few days of the national election on 29 December of 2008. He joined the college again in September this year.

Golam Faruk told Prothom Alo that he had served as a presiding officer at Nadimpur Govt Primary School in Raozan during that election. He was asked to provide ballot papers for illegal stuffing. He did not agree. Later Fazle Karim forbade him to come to the college. Despite contacting different authorities, he could not to return to his post.

Similarly, about 200 teachers, officials and employees of various schools, colleges and madrasas in Raozan like Golam Faruk also could not go to work for a long time. They only returned to work after the change of government. However, the tenure of some of their jobs has ended and some have even died in the meantime.

Headmaster of Noapara High School, Habib Ullah said that in 2017 he was driven out of the school as well as the area on suspicion of him being a BNP supporter. Even his home had been attacked and vandalised at least five times.

There are allegations against Fazle Karim of wrecking 46 branch offices and prayer halls of faith-based organisation, Muniria Juba Tabligue Committee in 2019. Apart from those, other offices had also been sealed off.

Meanwhile, more than 500 activists and followers of the organisation became victim of attacks and cases. As many as 742 people faced jail sentences at various cases. Plus, the houses and shops of 800 of their members were vandalised.

Acting secretary general of the central committee of Muniria Juba Tabligue Committee Bangladesh and professor at Chattogram University, Abul Mansur said that 50 per cent of the people in Raozan are followers of their organisation.

Fazle Karim used to consider the Pir of this organisation an opponent in election. That why Fazle Karim drove the activists of Muniria from the area by means of attacks and cases. Earlier, it wasn’t even possible to take refuge under the law. But, eight cases have been filed recently and preparations are on for filing more, he added.

Development projects of Tk 150 billion (Tk 15,000 crore) have been implemented in Raozan during the regime of Awami League government. A 10 per cent commission had to be paid to Fazle Karim in these projects, complained the contractors. The contractors could not attend most of the tender calls as the contracts were channeled to people of their choice.

Acting general secretary of the Awami League unit in Bagoan union and contractor Muhammad Mahbub Alam told Prothom Alo that he had done the project of a road with an allocation of Tk 2.2 million (Tk 22 lakh) in 2016. At that time, he had to pay Fazle Karim Tk 222,000 (Tk 2.22 lakh) as the 10 per cent commission in advance. Several other contractors have made similar allegations as well.

Fazle Karim Chowdhury was elected as a member of parliament of Awami League from Raozan four consecutive times between 2008 and 2024. His current annual income has increased 11 times compared to that in 2008. While earlier he used make an earning from his business only, now he has made fresh investments in agriculture and fisheries sectors also. This information has been found from his affidavit submitted at the election commission in December last year.  

Sixteen years ago, the annual income of Fazle Karim Chowdhury was Tk 2.1 million (Tk 21.19 lakh) back in 2008. Now his annual income stands at Tk 23.2 million (Tk 2.32 crore). Sixteen years back, ABM Fazle Karim Chowdhury had immovable properties worth Tk 8.3 million (Tk 83 lakh). And, now he has immovable assets worth Tk 44.9 million (Tk 4.49 crore).

Secretary of Sushashoner Jonno Nagorik (SUJAN) in Chattogram Akhter Kabir Chowdhury told Prothom Alo that in Raozan, nobody could speak out of fear. Action should be taken against Fazle Karim after investigating his grabbing, corruption and accumulation of illegal wealth.