Court to decide on accepting charges against Vorer Pata editor on May 28

A Dhaka court will decide on May 28 whether it will accept charges brought against Kazi Ertaza Hassan, editor and publisher of Bangla daily Vorer Pata, and three others in a case filed over registering land with fake documents.

The three others are Dhaka University's (DU's) Institute of Business Administration (IBA) Prof Abu Yousuf Mohammed Abdullah and Ertaza's two aides Reazul Alam and Selim Munshi.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Ahmed Humayun Kabir passed the order after the charge sheet was placed before it today.

On March 23, PBI Sub-Inspector Md Mehedi Hasan, who is also the investigation officer of the case, submitted the charge sheet to Dhaka's Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court.

Kazi Ertaza, also a director of FBCCI, Prof Yousuf, also the chairman of Northern University Bangladesh's Board of Trustees and Prasad Nirman Ltd, and two other accused were earlier arrested and they are now on bail in the case.

On January 10 of 2022, Md Saiful Islam Bhuiyan, deputy managing director of Ashiyan Lands Development, filed the case with Khilkhet Police Station accusing them and six to seven unidentified persons.

According to the case statement, the complainant made an agreement with the accused persons for selling a five-bigha land of Ashiyan Lands Development in exchange for Tk 50 crore in 2013.

After the agreement, the accused paid Tk 30 crore to the complainant and said they would pay the rest of the money later. After getting the Tk 30 crore, the complainant allowed them to start their project on the land.

When the complainant asked for the rest of the money from the accused in 2019, they said the remaining Tk 20 crore was paid to complainant Saiful's elder brother, Nazrul Islam Bhuiyan, managing director of Ashiyan Lands Development.

Saiful later came to know that the accused had illegally registered the land showing fake signatures and documents.