The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has filed a case against Rupayan Housing Estate Ltd chairman Liaquat Ali Khan Mukul and 43 others on charges of misappropriating government-owned land through irregular and unlawful approvals.
The case was lodged on Thursday by ACC Assistant Director Afia Khatun at the ACC Integrated District Office, Dhaka-1.
The accused have been charged under Sections 409, 420, 467, 468, 471 and 109 of the Penal Code, along with Section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947.
Alongside Liaquat Ali Khan Mukul, his wife and son have also been named as accused. They are Rokeya Begum Nasima, a director of Rupayan Housing Estate Ltd, and Mahir Ali Khan Ratul, who also serves as a director of the company.
Other accused include several directors and officials of Rupayan Housing Estate Ltd, as well as officials of Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK) and the Public Works Department.
Among them are urban planners, engineers, draftsmen and members of various approval committees.
According to the ACC, the accused concealed land ownership details and information related to ongoing court cases, violated court orders, used forged documents and abused their official positions to illegally obtain land-use clearance, special project approvals and building permits.
Through these actions, they allegedly grabbed government-owned khas land listed under Khatian No. 1, as well as land belonging to the Bhawal Estate, and falsely treated them as private property.
The ACC said that in 2013, Rupayan Housing entered into an agreement for 2.51 acres of land but failed to pay the agreed consideration or complete registration.
The same year, a court imposed a status quo order on the disputed land, which remains in force.
Despite the court order, applications were submitted to RAJUK for various approvals, which were allegedly granted without proper scrutiny or verification, the ACC said.
Investigations found that Rupayan Housing received approvals for a total of 41.548 acres across five phases, while valid ownership documents were available for only 16.32 acres.
No legal documents were found to support ownership of the remaining land.
The ACC further found that 2.35 acres of government and Bhawal Estate land, along with a 60-foot road designated under the Detailed Area Plan (DAP), were illegally included within the project area.
According to the ACC, the approvals were secured using false, incomplete and misleading documents, in clear violation of existing building and planning regulations.
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