Rise meteoric, fall too

He became the vice chairman of an upazila parishad, general secretary of Gazipur city Awami League, and mayor of Gazipur -- all before he was 40.

Zahangir Alam's henchmen, a supply of cash from questionable sources, and connections with powerful politicians enabled him to reach the top of AL in Gazipur really quickly, party insiders say.

But his fall was even quicker. Speaking at a programme in late September, Zahangir, 42, made controversial comments on Bangabandhu and the number of Liberation War martyrs.

The AL central committee on October 3 issued a show-cause notice to Zahangir. The AL expelled him from the party.

Zahangir might soon get sued under the Digital Security Act and lose his mayorship.

"In his relatively short political life, he became so powerful that he felt nothing could touch him, as he had blessings from a section of top Awami League leaders," said a member of Gazipur city AL.

Gazipur city AL President Azmat Ullah Khan said the AL will benefit from his removal.

"There were allegations that he used to patronise activists of other political parties. It was harmful for the party. The action against him saved the party from further losses," he told The Daily Star.

Actions were not taken earlier because the allegations were not investigated, Azmat said.

ALLEGATIONS APLENTY

Many residents of Gazipur city allege that they lost valuable land as the city corporation led by Zahangir "encroached" on their private property and demolished their buildings to widen streets, drains and footpaths. Most of the residents said they did not get any compensation.

Moslem Uddin and his wife Setara Begum had four katha of land in Salna area of the city. They had a three-storey building and a semi pucca one on it.

On November 13, Zahangir and his followers asked the couple to demolish half of the building and two rooms of the semi-pucca house to make room for a road.

"They marked the parts we must demolish. When asked about compensation, they said they would only provide the costs of demolishing the building," Setara said. "It is a forcible occupation… Zahangir was oppressing the citizens as a mayor."

Rafiqul Islam, a resident of Harinal area, said he lost one and a half katha of land and a part of his house.

"My house was built on my four-katha land. The city corporation did not acquire it. They just demolished part of my building and the walls. I did not get anything in compensation," he said.

"The mayor called us to his office through his aides. I along with several other affected people went there twice, but he did not meet us," Rafiqul added.

Their frustration was echoed by dozens of affected residents.

Locals said that one of the major sources of Zahangir's income was the monopoly he established in the business of leftover fabrics of garment factories in Gazipur and nearby areas.

The High Court issued status quo orders in November 2020 on the possession of land of Quasem Lamps Limited, Quasem group's guest house at Baimail, and the properties of Escort Packaging Factory at Itahata, Majlishpur.

Despite the orders, the city corporation took over portions of land of the factories of Quasem Lamps Ltd and the guest house in Baimail, Joydevpur, on August 19 and 20. The corporation demolished the structures and boundary walls.

"The High Court status quo order was hung at the gate of Quasem Lamps Ltd. But they demolished it at the mayor's order," said Tariq Abul Ala, deputy managing director of the factory.

There are allegations that Zahangir made a party billboard with the city corporation money while over 300 individuals working for a charity named after him also get money from the city corporation.

Zahangir at a press conference on Saturday said he got about 8,000 bighas of land from city dwellers to construct  and widen roads. "There is no country or city in the world where owners of 32,000 houses and shops gave up their land for roads. They [people in Gazipur] willingly gave the land that I begged for."

There are 2,600 factories in Gazipur city, he said. "I have never taken money from any of the owners in my life."

"Whenever people faced land-related problems, we solved those," he said.

RISE AND FALL OF ZAHANGIR

Zahangir entered politics as a student in the late 1990s.

Between 2006 and 2010, he was the vice president of Bangladesh Chhatra League central committee. In 2008, he was elected as the vice chairman of Gazipur Upazila Parishad.

In 2013, he sought the AL nomination for mayor of Gazipur City Corporation, but did not get it. He became Gazipur AL general secretary later that year, and in 2018, he got the AL nomination for mayor and won.

Insiders say Zahangir alienated influential AL leaders like Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Huq, State Minister for Youth and Sports Zahid Ahsan Russel, lawmaker Meher Afroze Chumki and Azmat Ullah.

"He wanted to ensure total supremacy in the area," said a senior local leader.

Contacted about the allegations, Zahangir said, "No one raised such allegations two months ago. It is a conspiracy against me and you [the reporter] raise the questions. Many people are spreading lies because I am in a fix now. If anyone can prove that I… grabbed land, you can put me under trial."