Threats hound journalist over house allotted in 1967

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Fazlur Rahman
Unknown criminals have continued to threaten former Executive Editor of the Bangladesh Observer Abdur Rahim with dire consequences, even death, as the eminent journalist is fighting a court case to save his residence in the capital.
Abdur Rahim, also a former press minister at Bangladesh High Commission in London, alleged that the criminals have been arrested for trying to grab his house, located at Plot No 20/A, Road No 26, Gulshan 1, for years.
"But failing to materialise their ill design, they began lobbying with a section of Rajuk employees and laying ownership claim to the house, which I was allotted in 1967, when I served as a correspondent for the then Pakistan Observer," he said.
Mr Rahim said Gulshan police on May 5, 2008 arrested two alleged cheats in cooperation with the joint forces for their attempt to sell out the three-storied house to a developer.
He said he later filed a case against the criminals, which has remained tangled in a legal web in the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court-1 for the last 19 months.
The accused are Shahjahan Mollah, a former teacher at the city's West End High School and his accomplice Shahjahan Siraj, who is also accused in several other criminal cases, Mr Rahim said.
Abdur Rahim told the FE Monday that soon after being released from jail on bail, the accused started to harass him in various ways and try to thwart the trial procedure.
"I have filed a general diary (GD) with the Gulshan police as unknown persons have continued to threaten me with dire consequences over telephone," he said.
He added that the Detective Branch of police submitted a charge sheet in November, 2008 against the accused. Enamul Haque, another member of the group, was also made an accused.
Abdur Rahim alleged that the identified accused still roam the streets freely as "the court cases that drag on for years end up in acquittal of the criminals."
"The accused are claiming that they have been given power of attorney. They are just trying to lengthen the case," said Mr Rahim, who also taught at the Department of Mass Communication and Journalism at the University of Dhaka.
An influential cartel has been active in the city for years, which, in connivance with some Rajuk and land registration officials, is grabbing land and houses of innocent people through cheating.
Rajuk, however, in a letter on November 1, 2009 clarified that the ownership of the house has been unchanged since its allotment in 1967.
Rajuk chairman Nurul Huda also admitted that there cannot be any dispute over the issue as they are convinced that Abdur Rahim is the real owner of the house.