Land Grabbing: ACC to sue former AL lawmaker Awal

Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) is going to file three cases against former Awami League lawmaker of Pirojpur AKMA Awal, for misappropriating khas (government) land.

His wife Laila Parvin will also be accused in one of the cases over the same allegations, ACC sources confirmed, adding that the commission has approved the probe report and the cases will be filed soon.

A source said the former lawmaker took lease of a khas land using fake documents and built a three-storied building on it. The building was rented out to Pirojpur Rural Electricity Cooperative.

Awal, who was MP from Pirojpur-1 between 2014 and 2018, also illegally grabbed a government land near Swarupkathi upazila bungalow and built another modern bungalow there.

In Pirojpur town, Awal grabbed about 44 decimals of land and erected a boundary wall to keep it in his possession, ACC sources said.

3 ILLEGAL GAS CONNECTIONS SHUT IN MIRPUR

Meanwhile, ACC yesterday led a drive in Mirpur and shut down illegal gas connections.

Three  dying factories had been using a booster to pump in gas from household  connections, that apparently deprived at least 63 families of  Benarashipalli of Mirpur from gas facilities, said a press release from the anti-graft watchdog.

The factories had been using about  1,326 cubic feet of gas illegally, the monthly charge for which would be  Tk 1.5 lakh, the release added.

A resident yesterday lodged a complaint through the ACC hotline 106, which sent a team to the spot.

The team, led by ACC’s Assistant Director Shahriar Jamil, found the allegation to be true.

The team sealed four illegal risers and seized 26 burners of the factories.

Titas Metro Dhaka Sales Division-6 manager Shahidur Rahman said an ACC team informed them. Later, they accompanied the ACC team.

“It’s  difficult to find illegal connections unless neighbours complain,” he said, adding they will fine the factories’ owners Tk 10 lakh.