Rajarbagh Pir: NHRC wants his dens shut

The National Human Rights Commission had recommended shutting down the dens of Rajarbagh Darbar Shareef's Pir Dillur Rahman and its branches to stop them using religion to deceive people and grab property by filing false cases.

This was revealed Monday in the full text of a High Court order asking the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to inquire into Dillur Rahman's assets, the organisations he is involved in and to submit a report to the HC before November 30.

The HC also directed the Counter Terrorism and Transitional Crime Unit of Dhaka Metropolitan Police to conduct a probe to find out whether Dillur Rahman and Ulama Anjuman Al-Bayanat has any connection with militancy and to submit a report to it by the same date.

Ulama Anjuman Al-Bayanat has been listed as a militant organisation by the home ministry and is one of the organisations in which Dillur is involved.

The HC bench of Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice Md Mostafizur Rahman said the NHRC report, attached with the writ petition filed on behalf of eight victims of Dillur's defamatory cases, made seven recommendations.

"One of the recommendations is preparing a list of properties of Rajarbagh Darbar Shareef's so-called Pir Dillur Rahman and his organisations, and the issues of their revenues will have to be inquired," the HC bench said in the full text of its September 19 order released Monday.

"Secondly, Dillur Rahman's den and its branches established at different places across the country will have to be shut down so that they cannot deceive the general people in the name of religion and cannot grab assets and money of innocent people through filing false cases and harassing them."

Another recommendation, the HC bench said, was that Al Bayanat and Al Ihsan, newspapers run by Ulama Anjuman Al-Bayanat and other organisations Dillur is involved in, will have to be banned.

The HC bench said in the full text that it has been evident from the NHRC report that around 7,000 acres of land and rubber plantations in different areas are illegally occupied by the so-called Pir and his Darbar Shareef.

The bench delivered the short version of the order on September 19 following a writ petition moved by lawyer Mohammad Shishir Manir seeking necessary directives.

Shishir Manir yesterday told The Daily Star that the NHRC had placed the seven-point recommendations about Rajarbagh Darbar Shareef and Dillur Rahman to the home ministry in 2018.

"Since the home ministry has not taken any action, we have submitted the NHRC report to the High Court for necessary directives," he said.

The eight victims, including Md Ala Uddin from Cox's Bazar, Nargis Akter from Khulna, Nazma Akter from Savar, a freedom fighter's son Zinnat Ali from Cox's Bazar, businessman Abdul Kader from Sabujbagah of Dhaka, Jainal Abedin and Aybur Hasan Siam from Narsingdi, collectively submitted the petition to the HC on September 16 through lawyer Mohamad Shishir Manir, saying Dillur Rahman filed several false, misleading and defamatory cases against them through his disciples to grab their properties and harass them.