Dhaka, July 2 (bdnews24.com)—Police on Thursday arrested former MP Nazim Kamran Choudhury and his two close relatives, and were looking for the wife, former caretaker adviser Geeteara Safiya Choudhury, on charges of forcible occupation of a Gulshan property, assault and issuing death threats.
House owners Dr Mahbubul Islam and wife Farhana Islam filed a case with Gulshan police naming 11 people, including Geetiara and businessman husband Nazim, accusing them of forcible occupation of their property.
Gulshan police chief Kamrul Alam Mollah told bdnews24.com that Nazim, his younger brother Mukim Choudhury and the Choudhury couple's son-in-law Adit Bhagat were arrested at Gulshan-1 at around 11:30pm.
Asked whether Geeteara would be arrested too, Mollah said: "We are looking for all the accused in the case."
Mollah said Islam had filed the case on behalf of wife Farhana, who owned the building at 7/A, Road No 41, Gulshan-2.
The Islams said tenant Nazim and the other accused had been forcibly occupying the property since the expiry of a five-year rental agreement.
The case alleged that in July 2008, the accused forcibly brought a generator onto the premises ignoring the house owner's objections.
The case also alleges that the accused had physically assaulted the house owner and made death threats against the Islam couple.
Farhana Islam had filed a similar case before with the Dhaka District and Sessions Judge's Court in November 2007, accusing three companies belonging to the Choudhurys, including advertising firm Adcomm, of illegal occupation.
But the court quashed the case on Jan 25 2008, on the basis of a report by the then investigating officer saying the allegation was "not proved".
Gulshan police sub-inspector Masud Karim, who is the investigation officer in the new case, quoting the FIR said on Thursday that the Islam couple had filed their complaint again under the new government as Geeteara had been a powerful figure when they had filed their previous case.
In their original case, the Islams alleged that Geeteara misused power as an adviser to aid her husband to continue occupying the premises in flagrant violation of the rental agreement.
Geeteara was industries adviser to the past military-installed caretaker government from January 2007 to January 2008 and one of four advisers to have controversially quit the interim cabinet.
Removal trucks were seen in the garage of the Gulshan building at around 2am Friday.
Bystanders including night guards and neighbours said that they were loading office furniture and a generator from the premises.
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