BNP's regime 2001-2006: Unbridled corruption and reckless coercion-terror by Mirza Abbas

During the last days of the BNP-Jamaat coalition government, Public Works Affairs Minister Mirza Abbas illegally leased two acres of railway land, worth Tk 51 crores then, to an unnamed and fake association without tendering. This BNP leader, who is close to Tarique Rahman, completed the entire process in just 14 days on instructions from Hawa Bhaban. But the railway land is not under the Ministry of Public Works, it has no legal right to do so.

In its list, the cooperative office could not find the name of the association that got the lease for 99 years, according to a report published by the daily Janakantha on July 28, 2007. The issue drew the attention of the Anti-Corruption Commission when the Railway authorities demanded to get the rightful possession of the land after the caretaker government came to power.

It is known to be the last corruption of Mirza Abbas before BNP-Jamaat left power in October 2006. In just 14 days, possession of the land was confirmed with a cash deposit of Tk 1.46 crores from the fake association called Purbachal Cooperative Society. The company that legally took the lease and was doing business on a portion of the railway land, was also uprooted by muscle power. The railway authorities protested the incident, but in vain due to the pressure from the cadres of Mirza Abbas.

It is an example of how the power of terrorists bypassed the rules and regulations everywhere during the BNP regime. BNP-Jamaat MPs and ministers continued to threaten and terrorize even government employees. It was Abbas who fraudulently made the deeds of land worth Tk 800 crore in the name of the relatives, including brother and nephew, of the then Prime Minister and BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and her close aide Mosaddak Ali Falu. Even Abbas was one of the four MPs of Dhaka who maintained regular contact with top terrorists on behalf of Tarique Rahman.