The home ministry suspended a deputy commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police on charge of facilitating a group of miscreants in grabbing the property of a martyred intellectual’s family in the city’s Nawabpur.

The ministry yesterday issued a circular suspending Wari division’s DC Mohammad Ibrahim.

The suspension order came after a police probe revealed that Ibrahim did not take any step despite being informed of the land grabbing incident that took place in September last year when he was the DC of DMP’s Lalbagh division.

The land was a vested property and leased to Masuda Khanam, mother of martyred intellectual and former deputy commissioner of Cumilla Shamsul Haq Khan, by the Dhaka DC office in 1975.

After her death, the property was leased to her two sons till 2017. In 2018, they appealed to the DC office for renewal of the lease.

When the appeal was pending, a group of criminals led by one Javed Uddin Sheikh grabbed the land, looted valuables and evicted the family, according to a case filed by the victim’s family on September 29 last year.

A day after the incident when the victim’s family went to Bangshal Police Station to file a case, the officer-in-charge informed Ibrahim of the incident and recorded a theft case, the probe report said.

Later, the DMP initiated the enquiry after receiving a written complaint from the victim’s family.

According to the probe report, some 30 to 35 armed criminals stormed the house of a martyred intellectual at 221, Nawabpur Road, tied all the residents and looted valuables worth Tk 5 crore.  

Despite knowing that the land grabbers evicted the legal owner of the house, demolished a three-storey building and constructed a basement for a new building, he did not take any legal action against the grabbers, showing utmost negligence to discharge his duty, the probe report added.

Police sources said Ibrahim helped the grabbers in exchange of a huge amount of bribe.

The investigation report was forwarded to the Police Headquarters and from there it was forwarded to the home ministry for necessary action.

During the suspension, Ibrahim will be attached to the Police Headquarters and will receive subsistence allowance as per the existing rules.

According to the gazette Ibrahim has been suspended under rules 12 (1) of Government Servants (discipline and appeal) Rules, 2018.