Industrialist Ragib Ali, four others get prison terms for acquiring land through fraud

Industrialist Ragib Ali and four others, including his son and daughter, have been convicted of acquiring a tea estate's land in Sylhet through fraud.

The 78-year-old businessman got 14 years in jail in the case over lands of the Tarapur Tea Estate.

On Thursday, Sylhet's chief metropolitan magistrate court gave ordered 16 years in jail each for his son Abdul Hye, daughter Rozina Kadir, son-in-law Abdul Kadir, and one Dewan Mostak Majid, a relative.

The court has acquitted one Pankaj Kumar Gupta from the charges.

According to case details, a Hindu man donated the Tarapur Tea Estate and all other properties to Sri Sri Radha Krishna Jeu in 1915.

Pankaj became the 'Sebayet' (supervisor) of the estate in 1971 and later left for India, making Majid the Sebayet of the temporality.

Questions were raised over a Muslim becoming a Sebayet of a Hindu temporality. An investigation was launched later.

Investigators found that Majid had forged a land ministry official’s signature to lease the estate to Ragib's son Hye for 99 years.

Ragib sold the estate dividing it into 337 plots.

The father and son have already been sentenced to 14 years in jail in a separate case over forging documents.

Ragib and his family fled to India hours after a court issued arrest warrant for him and his son, but they were brought back late last year.

His daughter and son-in-law are still absconding.

UK-Bangladeshi businessman Ragib is associated with bank, stock-broking, insurance companies, and many other business houses.

An annual publication, British Bangladeshi Who's Who, describes North South University Trust’s Founder Life Member Ragib as a philanthropist.

According to the publication, he is also the managing director of Kohinoor Industries Ltd and has served as chairman of Southeast Bank Limited.