Shajahan Khan's Extortion Scheme: Tk12,000 Crore Over 12 Years

Rtv news

07 Sep 2024, 13:31

Photo: Collected

One of the most corrupt and influential ministers and MPs of the Awami League government is Shajahan Khan, Awami League presidium member and former Shipping Minister. He was arrested last Thursday (September 5) from the Dhanmondi area in a murder case. He is now in remand.

Follow Rtv Online English on Google news

He was the minister and also the president of the Bangladesh Road Transport Workers Federation. So he had absolute dominance in this sector. His forces carried out his orders.

It is alleged that Shajahan Khan's group members have extorted 12 thousand crores in the transport sector from 2009 to 2020. Out of this, over 6 thousand crores have been extorted under his shadow in the last 4 years. After the Covid-19 pandemic, this extortion was given legality by formulating the guidelines regarding 'Organization Management Expenses in Road Transport'.

Extortion Amount: Tk12,000 crore allegedly extorted from 2009 to 2020
Recent Extortion: Over Tk6,000 crore collected in the last 4 years
Income Increase: Khan's annual income surged from Tk6.85 lakh in 2008 to Tk2.21 crore in 2024
Number of Unions: 249 labor unions under the Bangladesh Road Transport Workers Federation were involved in the extortion scheme
Lockdown Toll Collection Halt: 3 months (June, July, August 2020) of suspended road toll collection during the COVID-19 lockdown
Income Increase Factor: Khan's income increased nearly 32 times from 2008 to 2024

There are complaints that Shajahan Khan has institutionalized road extortion. Contributions have been collected through 249 labor unions belonging to the Road Transport Workers Federation.

In the past, the non-partisan caretaker government of BNP called for a large-scale movement on other demands, and the road traffic was stopped. Shajahan Khan was also behind it. He was also one of the obstacles to enacting the Road Transport Act by providing strict punishments to ensure road safety.

Meanwhile, according to the information in the election affidavit, the annual income of Shajahan Khan in 2008 was 6 lakh 85 thousand taka. Which in 2024 has become 2 crore 21 lakh taka. During this time his income increased almost 32 times. Transport workers' leader Mohammad Hanif Khokon told the media that there is no provision in the Road Transport Act to raise tolls from the road. However, Shajahan Khan led the reckless extortion in the transport sector.

According to sources, soon after Awami League came to power in 2009, leader Shajahan Khan became irresistible in the transport sector. Until the fall of the Awami League government on August 5, he had a monopoly on the transport sector. Since 2009, various amounts of tolls have been collected on the roads in scattered form.

When the government announced a lockdown during the Corona period, public transport was stopped. Later it was decided to start public transport from June 1, 2020. Due to the strict stance of law and order forces, road toll collection was stopped for 3 months of June, July, and August 2020. At this time, a new method of collecting subscriptions was devised. Guidelines regarding road transport organization operating expenses or service charges are formulated. Bangladesh Road Transport Owners Association, Road Transport Workers Federation, Bus Truck Owners Association, Truck and Covered Van Owners Association were associated with the formulation of this guideline.

Transport workers leader Mohammad Hanif Khokon said Shajahan Khan was the leader of reckless extortion in the transport sector without any regard for the law. One-fifth of the contributions collected at various terminals and upazila levels went to the name of Bangladesh Road Transport Workers Federation. Everything in this federation is going on at the behest of Shahjahan Khan. From 2009 to 2020, Shahjahan Khan's group members extorted 12 thousand crores from the transport sector.

He also said that Shajahan Khan and his associates have made a huge amount of cash and wealth in the name of family, and relatives with the proceeds of extortion. It has to investigate immediately and seize those illegal assets and deposit them in the state treasury.

Comments

Most Viewed News Of Bangladesh

Dr Yunus Calls for International Conference to Solve Rohingya Crisis

Interim Government Chief Advisor Dr Muhammad Yunus urgently called for an international conference to ensure a durable solution to the Rohingya crisis and the 'safe and dignified' repatriation of the Rohingya population to Myanmar. He made this call in a message given on the occasion of United Nations Day on Thursday (October 24). Originally, UN Day was observed on 24 October to mark the anniversary of the entry into force of the UN Charter in 1945. The United Nations officially came into existence on this day with the ratification of this founding document by a majority of the signatories of the Charter, including the five permanent members of the Security Council. In a message given on the occasion of the day, Dr Yunus drew the attention of the United Nations to give 'urgent attention' to the Rohingya crisis. He said, "We cannot ignore those in Rakhine State (Myanmar) or Gaza who continue to suffer oppression, overthrow, and grave human rights violations." The Chief Adviser said that including 40 thousand newly arrived Rohingyas, more than 1.3 million Rohingyas have taken shelter in Bangladesh, and said that Bangladesh calls on the United Nations to take final steps to protect civilian children, women, and men. At the same time, it also called for dialogue to ensure peace in Gaza Lebanon, and the wider region. He said, "On this day, Bangladesh reiterates its commitment to work with the international community to build a more just and peaceful world for its common interests. At the same time, the commitment to achieve dignity and rights for all must be implemented." On the occasion of the United Nations Day, Dr Muhammad Yunus extended his heartiest congratulations to all the men and women of the UN family around the world and reiterated his (Bangladesh's) commitment to the ideals of the UN Charter on behalf of the people of Bangladesh. He also called for reforming the United Nations to make it more inclusive, transparent, and responsive to meet the aspirations of all people in an increasingly global context.

Train Schedule Disruption Persists

Although the derailed Panchagarh Express coach has been recovered, the situation remains unmanageable due to damage to the signaling system. As a result, each train is departing three to three and a half hours late. On Saturday (October 26), not only the journey was delayed, but the railway authorities also canceled the journey of the inter-city Jayantika Express on the Dhaka-Sylhet route and the Agnibina Express on the Dhaka-Tarakandi route. Meanwhile, passengers returning to Dhaka after a long time are also expressing their anger, blaming the authorities for the prolonged situation. Railway authorities said that efforts are underway to normalize the schedule. They say the train is still running with the manual signal. Work is underway to fix the signal issue. Although the carriage of the derailed Panchagarh Express has been recovered, the situation is still beyond control due to the damage to the signal system. Meanwhile, the railway authorities have formed an inquiry committee into the derailment of the coach. Action will be taken subject to the report of the committee. It is to be noted that the Panchagarh Express train met with an accident at the Kamalapur railway station area on Thursday (October 24). In this, 3 coaches of the train fell off the line. However, no one was injured.

6 Killed as Truck, CNG Collide in Narsingdi

Six people were killed in a head-on collision between a truck and a CNG-run auto-rickshaw at Shibpur in Narsingdi this afternoon. The accident took place on the Itakhola-Monohardi road in the Pacharbari area of Shibpur on Saturday (October 26) afternoon. The victims were not immediately identified. Shibpur Police Station's Officer-in-Charge (OC) Md Afzal Hossain confirmed this. According to the police, and locals, a CNG carrying passengers from Itakhola was going to Manohardi on Saturday afternoon. When the autorickshaw reached a place called Pacharbari, it collided with a truck going to Itakhola. The CNG was completely twisted. Six people, including the autorickshaw driver and passenger, died on the spot. After receiving the information, the fire service and the police are conducting a rescue operation. He said that all the victims were passengers of the autorickshaw. Among them, there is a woman. We are currently working to recover the bodies and their identities.

Ex-DMP Commissioner Detained at Airport While Leaving Country

Retired Additional IGP and former Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner Khandaker Golam Faruk was detained at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport while leaving the country for Bangkok, the capital of Thailand. Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has filed an application against him for corruption of Tk3,000cr. A source in charge of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport confirmed that he was detained around 3 am on Sunday (October 27). It is known that Golam Faruk was going to Bangkok on Thai Airways flight TG-340 for a personal visit. However, he was interrogated by immigration officials after going to the airport's exit immigration counter. After that, he was not allowed to board the plane. Golam Faruk is currently with the Immigration Police. It has not yet been decided whether he will be handed over to the police or he will return home. Golam Faruk joined Bangladesh Police as Assistant Superintendent of Police in the 12th BCS (Police) cadre in 1991. On October 29, 2022, he assumed responsibility as the 35th Commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police. After a long career of 32 years and 8 months, he retired on September 30, 2023. This retired police officer is reported to have a US green card.

Ex-Public Works Minister Engineer Mosharraf Hossain Arrested

Former Minister of Housing and Public Works and former Member of Parliament of Chattogram-1 Constituency Engineer Mosharraf Hossain has been arrested by the Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police. He was arrested from the capital's Bashundhara residential area on Sunday (October 27) Muhammad Talebur Rahman, Deputy Commissioner (media and public relations) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), and DB Additional Commissioner (Media and Public Relations) Rezaul Karim Mallik confirmed the matter. Talebur Rahman said that Mosharraf, the former Awami League lawmaker from Chattogram-1, was accused in a murder case filed at Paltan Police Station. Engineer Mosharraf Hossain won the 1st, 3rd, 7th, 9th, 10th, and 11th parliamentary elections as an Awami League candidate from Chattogram-1 Constituency. He was also the Minister of Civil Aviation and Tourism in the period from 1997 to 2001, before taking charge of the Ministry of Housing and Public Works in the 10th National Parliament.

HSC, Equivalent 2024 Re-evaluation Result Date

The results of HSC and equivalent re-scrutiny 2024 will be published on November 14, said Inter-Education Board Coordination Committee Chairman Professor Tapan Kumar Sarkar. He revealed this information to the media on Sunday (October 27). Professor Tapan Kumar Sarkar said that the results of the re-evaluation are usually published within one month of the publication of the main results of HSC and equivalent examinations. As a result, on November 14, all the education boards will publish the results of the re-scrutiny of the HSC and equivalent examination. Officials related to the examination of the Dhaka Board said that the board has not yet received the information about how many students have applied for re-revision of the HSC and equivalent examination results from all over the country. They also said that the exam papers of students are not re-evaluated. Only the marks given by the examiners are checked whether they are added correctly or not. Earlier, the HSC and equivalent exam results were released on October 15. The average pass rate in 11 education boards is 77.78 percent. Application for re-evaluation of results was taken from October 16 to 22. The HSC and equivalent exams started on June 30. There were 14 lakh 50 thousand 790 candidates. As per the first published routine, after 8 days of examinations, all examinations on 18th July were postponed due to the situation surrounding the quota reform movement. After that, the government suspended the examination in three stages. Based on the marks obtained by the student in the SSC examination, the education board has prepared the result with the same marks in the HSC. Moreover, if there is no match between the department and the subject, the subject mapping methods have been followed.

Education Board announces SSC, HSC Exam 2025 Timeframe

Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and equivalent exams may begin in mid-April next year. At the same time, the Higher Secondary School Certificate (HSC) and equivalent exams begin in the last week of June. According to this plan, the education boards have instructed the concerned to prepare. The source of the Ministry of Education and the Dhaka Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board informed this on Sunday (October 27). Sources said that the government wants to implement the SSC and HSC exam schedule if no major incident occurs. In this regard, Dhaka Board Examination Controller Professor Abul Bashar said that the month of Ramadan will continue in March. Eid-ul-Fitr may be on March 31 or April 1. Preparations are underway to take the SSC and equivalent exams after fasting and Eid holidays. He also said that June 7 will be the holy Eid-ul-Azha. After that, we are planning to take HSC and equivalent exams.

Shajahan Khan's Extortion Scheme: Tk12,000 Crore Over 12 Years

Why Rice Prices Are Rising: Key Factors at Play

Dr Yunus Calls for International Conference to Solve Rohingya Crisis

Train Schedule Disruption Persists

6 Killed as Truck, CNG Collide in Narsingdi

Ex-DMP Commissioner Detained at Airport While Leaving Country

Ex-Public Works Minister Engineer Mosharraf Hossain Arrested

HSC, Equivalent 2024 Re-evaluation Result Date

Education Board announces SSC, HSC Exam 2025 Timeframe

Awami League Lost Moral Right to Politics After Killings: Nahid Islam

Ex-MP Shahjahan Omar Arrested From Rajapur

Kamrul Islam Placed on 8-Day Remand in Murder Case

13 Accused Including 9 Ex-Ministers Shown Arrested From ICT