The tin-roofed structure and the under-construction building next to it are Awami League office built illegally on a college premises in Gokunda, Lalmonirhat.
Awami League leaders of Gokunda union are constructing a party office on a local college premises claiming that the prime minister during her visit to the district last year “symbolically” inaugurated it from a rally.
The Daily Star has contacted top officials of the district and police administrations, National Security Intelligence, and Roads and Highways to verify the claim.
The officials confirmed that during her visit on September 20, 2012, the PM had announced inauguration of six projects at a gathering in Collectoriate field in Lalmonirhat sadar, but not the AL office.
The projects inaugurated were Primary Teachers Training Institute, Dharla Bridge, Burimari rail link, Nursing Institute, Diabetics Hospital and Second Teesta Road Bridge.
“If anyone claims that the PM inaugurated the Awami League office on Teesta Degree College premises, the person is simply lying,” said an official of the district administration.
The ruling party grabbers have also put up a solid marble plaque in front of the under-construction structure to announce the “commitment” of the PM.
Locals said the majority of the college teachers and its committee members, including the principal, were Awami League supporters and they all had conveniently kept silent over the issue.
A marble plaque claiming that the office was inaugurated by the prime minister.
Parents and local people said they wanted the illegal occupation to end but could not protest out of fear of reprisal.
“These people are very powerful here and have strong influence over the administration,” one man said.
College sources and locals alleged that AL men had felled at least 20 roadside trees, each worth an estimated Tk 30,000, to build the party office. They also misappropriated money from government projects, such as Test Relief (TR) and Food for Work, which the ruling party men already controlled.
General Secretary of AL Gokunda union unit Khorshed Alam Majnu refuted the allegations claiming that one AL supporter, named Jamil Hossain, had donated 10 decimal of land adjacent to the college playground to build the office.
Asked, Jamil Hossain kept mum about the matter. But The Daily Star investigation found that Jamil did not possess any land in the vicinity of the college. A local resident termed it a drama and said, “Jamil Hossain is a toy of the local AL leaders.”
President of Teesta College governing body Abu Sayeed Dulal admitted that the PM did not inaugurated the party office.
“In fact the land belongs to the college but we decided in a meeting to donate it to Awami League,” he said.
Principal of the college Abdus Salam Sarker said he had asked the managing committee to take steps for vacating the land.
Source: The Daily nStar