Fraudster Ragib Ali loses Sylheter Dak newspaper declaration

The authorities have revoked the permission to publish the vernacular newspaper The Daily Sylheter Dak owned by convicted industrialist Ragib Ali.

Ragib, serving his sentences in jail, was the publisher of Bengali daily, the top-selling newspaper in the district.

His conviction for fraud led the authorities to cancel the newspaper’s declaration, Sylhet Deputy Commissioner Md Rahat Anwar has said.

He told bdnews24.com that the declaration was cancelled as per the law on Thursday and a copy of the notice was sent to the newspaper on Sunday.

Sylheter Dak Acting Editor Md Abdul Hannan and Executive Editor Abdul Hamid Manik could not be reached by bdnews24.com for comments.

Its publisher and head of editors’ panel Ragib Ali has been sentenced to different prison terms in three cases.

He and his son Abdul Hye, who is also an editor of the newspaper, were sentenced to 14 years in jail in February this year for forging land ministry documents to grab the temporality of a tea estate in Sylhet.

The duo, along with Ragib’s daughter Rozina Kadir, son-in-law Abdul Kadir, and a relative, Dewan Mostak Majid, were sentenced to 16 years in jail in April in another case of fraud.

Ragib and Hye were sentenced to one year in jail in March for publishing newspaper while being fugitive.

Ragib and his family fled to India hours after a court issued arrest warrants for him and his son, but they were brought back late last year. The father and the son are now in jail while the other convicts are on the run.

The 78-year-old businessman is a vice-chairman of the Southeast Bank.

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

According to the publication, he is the managing director of Kohinoor Industries Ltd.

The UK-Bangladeshi businessman is also associated with banks, stockbroking, insurance companies, medical college and many other business houses, the publication says.