No stranger to controversy

For Zahir Uddin Sardar, the memory burns like fire.

“It was Friday. August 8, 2014,” he began abruptly, but what struck me was the vividness of his account.

“Our lawmaker, Manjurul Islam Liton, slapped me in the face, several times, in the guest room of his luxury home,” said the headteacher of Rambhadra Government High School in an injured tone, his face hardening. 

It was all because Zahir, 50, had gone to request the lawmaker to withdraw his objection to the release of a government fund of Tk 4 lakh meant for improving the school's sanitation. But his plea failed to melt the MP's heart.

On way home, one thought kept coming back to the headmaster: How could Liton, whose father was a headmaster himself of a local primary school, hit a teacher?

The Gaibandha-1 Awami League MP made headlines after shooting a 10-year-old child for no apparent reason on the morning of October 2. But locals said he was already infamous for various misdeeds, including insulting teachers, firing blank shots at will, going about the area in a drunken stupor, and taking bribes from poor people promising them jobs at government schools.

Allegedly, the lawmaker was drunk when he shot Shahadat Hossain Sourav, a class-four student, who is now under treatment at Rangpur Medical College Hospital.  

'OUT OF HIS MIND'  

Zahir Uddin is not the only teacher to have been insulted by Liton, 47, though. 

Shafiqul Islam is the headmaster of the primary school next to Rambhadra Government High School. He had the misfortune to meet Liton once in 2014.   

At their first meeting, Liton told Shafiqul: “You look more like a thief than a teacher.”

The teacher was shocked but then thought, “He [the MP] must be out of his mind. No man in his senses can behave with a teacher this way.”

So, it came as no surprise to locals when authorities of three colleges in the constituency removed Liton from their managing committees following the shooting.

Abdulla All Mamun, mayor of Sundarganj municipality under Gaibandha-1 constituency, brought some more serious allegations against Liton.

He alleged the lawmaker made huge money by misappropriating funds allocated for educational institutions and also through taking bribes.

“He [Liton] took Tk 2,00,000 to 4,00,000 from each of the 64 peons hired in as many government schools in his area,” he alleged.

The Daily Star could not verify his claim. 

According to Mamun, also president of ward-9 AL there, Liton often fired blank shots from his gun since becoming an MP in 2014.

The lawmaker surrendered his licenced shotgun and pistol to police following the shooting of the boy.

'DIDN'T SHOOT THE KID'

Locals also allege the MP has created a group of henchmen who make his presence felt throughout the constituency.

Interestingly, he has appointed his wife Syeda Khurshid Jahan his assistant personal secretary.  

Ahead of the 10th parliamentary election, they both filed nomination papers. Syeda later pulled out of the race and her husband got the ticket. According to their nomination papers, Liton stopped studying after his SSC while his wife has a master's degree.

The lawmaker could not be reached for comment, but his wife binned all the allegations, including that of corruption, against Liton.            

“My husband is innocent. He did not shoot the kid,” said Syeda, also joint convener of the district's Mahila League, the women wing of the ruling party.  

According to locals, the lawmaker goes out every night and roams around the area. He also visits the upazila health complex during the night “to see if everything is alright”.

Sundarganj Muktijoddha Sangsad Commander Emdadul Haque Bablu said the lawmaker makes these visits after his “drinking hours”.

He claimed Liton entered local politics in 1996, thanks to his power of money and muscle.

PROPERTY, FAMILY

Sixth among seven siblings, Liton is the director of Ananda Group of Industries and owns a house in the capital's Dhanmondi, according to information submitted to the Election Commission.

His Gaibandha home stands on 12-Bigha land. Near Bamandanga Bazar in Sundarganj, he has a six-story cold storage named Ashraf Cold Storage.

His mother Altafun Nesa was a family planning worker. She joined Liton's father, Ashraf Ali, to become a Muslim League activist in the 1950s, local sources said. 

Of his siblings, one sister is a joint secretary and another owns a firm, Ananda Builders. One sister is married to a prominent AL leader and yet another to a marine engineer.

One of his brothers teaches at a university in Canada and the other one is a marine engineer.

“But he [Liton] is a black sheep of the family,” said Zahir, the headmaster.