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He challenges anyone to prove the allegations and promises to transfer the property if proven true
Published : 21 Apr 2024, 03:03 AM
Former inspector general of police Benazir Ahmed has refuted allegations of possessing assets beyond means reported by a national daily and a TV station.
In a video message on Facebook on Saturday, he challenged anyone to prove the allegations and promised to transfer the property if proven true.
The daily Kaler Kantho, owned by Bashundhara Group, reported three weeks ago that Benazir's family built an eco-resort on around 354 hectares of land in Gopalganj with corruption money.
It also alleged that the former IGP owns multiple flats and houses in Dhaka and Purbachal.
The newspaper accused his family of encroaching on forest land to construct a resort in Gazipur.
The Kaler Kantho said it could not obtain Benazir’s comments regarding these allegations despite multiple attempts.
In the 25-minute video message, Benazir expressed dismay over the recent publication, labelling them as objectionable, defamatory, false, and distorted news about him and his family.
He chose not to discuss the reasons behind the sudden circulation of such news surfaced two years after his retirement, saying that journalists and conscious individuals in the capital are aware of the underlying reasons.
However, he did not mention any plans for legal action.
"I've thoroughly checked the two news reports about me. They contain 45 claims, allegations, and defamatory statements,” said Benazir.
"Out of these, 24 claims are entirely false or made up. Two topics were repeated seven times. Also, two facts were misrepresented. The remaining 10 claims were exaggerated and misplaced, not just once but multiple times."
Benazir received his master’s degree from Dhaka University’s English Department. He also has a PhD in business administration from the university’s Faculty of Business Studies.
Benazir joined the police force in 1988 and retired as IGP in September 2022. He had also worked as the director general of the Rapid Action Battalion. He had worked in the UN peacekeeping missions in Bosnia and Kosovo as well.
Regarding allegations about his family's investments in the agriculture sector, the former police chief said, "Since 2014, our family have been involved in agriculture in my native district of Gopalganj. Our investments and business in agriculture have been ongoing for the past decade.
"We initially started with a small fish farm, which gradually expanded with the income generated. Later, we diversified into various types of forest, fruit, medicinal, and spice tree plantations.
"Agricultural business doesn't require investment of tens of millions of takas. The reported amount of land for this project is inaccurate. In reality, our family has more loans from banks and other sources than the value of the land purchased. Our business growth has been primarily fuelled by income and loans, with all land and financial sources duly documented in tax files.
He refuted claims that his wife owns a multi-million taka business.
“Despite my government job, my wife and family members have the constitutional right to conduct business and own property in our country. My job does not hinder their business activities or property ownership.
"Offensive comments have been made about my wife's family, which is established in society, with her father being a senior government official in Bangladesh. My wife has diligently paid taxes on her personal income for the past 24 years. Furthermore, the news report violated the constitutional right to privacy, as it published personal information such as passports, national identity cards, and email addresses of my family members, which is deeply concerning and unacceptable."
Benazir refuted claims of owning a duplex house on a 0.5 hectare piece of land in the east of the capital.
He also dismissed as false the claim that his income and family business investments are “sky high”.
He continued, "The published details regarding my 35 years of service salary are incorrect and deeply insulting. The reports suggest that post-retirement, there was an unexpected surge in wealth, which I find offensive. Our family business was established in 2014 and has been transparently operating for the past decade.
"Our family fisheries project has received national-level recognition with gold medals and other awards, achievements earned through years of hard work. It is disheartening to see such news undermining the collective efforts of everyone involved."
Benazir refuted claims of investing heavily in the Savanna Agro project in Gopalganj.
He said although two companies were mentioned with substantial authorised capital, their actual investment was far less.
"It's essential to differentiate between authorised capital and paid-up capital. In reality, these two companies have not even reached Tk 10 million paid-up capital. The way it's presented may suggest that our family invested Tk 250 million there, but that's not the case.”
According to him, these companies intended to expand their agricultural business, but due to economic hurdles and bank loan refusals, they have not commenced operations.
Benazir disputed the claim made in the news that his family's project area in Gopalganj is referred to as 'Benazir's Chawk'.
“Additionally, the report falsely states that electricity connections in the project area are provided without meters. In reality, there are legally installed government-sanctioned meters, and our family pays the electricity bills monthly for their business usage.
“The report also mentions the acquisition of land through coercion and intimidation, which is simply a figment of imagination. Given that it's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's home district and the project area is adjacent to her parliamentary seat, the notion of acquiring land through force or coercion is impractical.”
The former IGP further refuted the information presented in the report regarding flats and houses in Moghbazar and Anondo Police Housing Society in Dhaka as false.
He explained that Anondo Housing is a private cooperative society. "In 2007, we became members and reserved a plot. We're paying for it in instalments. The claim of us having a 54,440 square feet plot there is exaggerated. Our plot has a two-story house with walls of five inches and a tin roof. Saying that a house with a tin roof in a village without basic amenities would cost Tk 450 million is ridiculous."
He denies the report's claim that he bought a 0.126-hectare piece of plot in Purbachal while serving as IGP.
Benazir claimed that the information about him having a flat for his daughter in Bashundhara Residential Area and .50 hectares of land in Rupganj is also incorrect.
He refuted the claim regarding his family's investments in Le Meridien Dhaka Hotel and the Padma Bank. “Our family are involved in share trading in the stock exchange, with a portfolio that includes 200,000 primary shares in the best western hotels.
Claims of substantial investments in Dubai, Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia are also false, he said. Reports alleging ownership in Concorde Hotel in Dubai and jewellery businesses in Singapore are entirely false, Benazir said.
“Accusations of Sonali Bank loans being smuggled abroad are baseless, as the investment in our Gopalganj project was made with a loan from the Sonali Bank."
Regarding the reported seizure of coconut plantations on St Martin’s Island, Benazir denies any involvement.
"I haven't seen any thick groves of coconuts on St Martin, and there is no question of land grabbing. The reported figures regarding land ownership on the island are inaccurate. While we do own a small plot there, it has remained unused due to a ban on construction mandated by the High Court. The land's status is reflected in our tax records."
"These accusations not only affect me but also undermine the morale of individuals striving to serve with integrity," he said.
