Home
+
Published : 19 Nov 2025, 07:18 PM
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has launched an inquiry into the purchase of Rose Garden on Hrishikesh Das Road in Old Dhaka, alleging a loss of nearly Tk 3.32 billion to the state.
The historic building is where the Awami League, which later led the Liberation War, began its political journey.
On Wednesday, ACC Public Relations Officer Aktarul Islam said the commission would take action against anyone found involved in the matter.
“Preliminary information suggests that collusion by certain officers of the Ministry of Housing and Public Works led to [the loss].
“Following receipt of the allegation, the ACC verified the claims and has begun a formal investigation based on evidence and documents gathered during the operation,” he added.
The decision to acquire Rose Garden, a site of immense historical and political significance, was approved by the Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase on Aug 8, 2018.
The building, preserved as private heritage, had been acquired from Layla Rokib and her children, the heirs of the original owner.
The Rose Garden was constructed in 1931 by affluent businessman Hrishikesh Das on 2.94 hectares of land.
He surrounded the west-facing two-storey mansion with gardens of rare roses imported from home and abroad, giving the property its name.
The building, roughly 7,000sqft in Corinthian–Greek style, features a large hall on the second floor with a white stone floor and floral-patterned green glass ceiling.
After Hrishikesh went bankrupt, the property changed hands multiple times: sold to bookseller Khan Bahadur Maulvi Kazi Abdur Rashid in 1936, later owned by his family, rented to Motion Pictures Limited in 1970, and returned to the Kazi Rokib family after 1993.
Although declared a protected heritage site by the Department of Archaeology in 1989, ownership eventually reverted to the family.
The Awami League government’s 2018 purchase marked the first state acquisition of the private heritage property.
