The railways ministry has cancelled the lease of 24 trains, which are currently being operated by private operators, allegedly for violating conditions of the contracts.

The ministry, in a letter on November 3, asked the director general of Bangladesh Railway (BR) to notify the lessees that their contract will be cancelled from December 31 this year.

The ministry also directed him to lease these trains after carrying out fresh bidding as soon as possible, officials said.

These 24 trains are run by different companies owned by Salauddin Ripan and his family members, sources said.

These companies initially won contracts to operate the trains for four years, but they continued to run those for over a decade, as BR extended their contracts without any fresh bidding.

Ripan, who reportedly was affiliated with Awami League and contested the last parliamentary election from Barishal-5 constituency as an independent candidate, managed the facilities, allegedly bribing some ministers of the previous government and unscrupulous officials of the BR.

Ripan, who reportedly was affiliated with Awami League and contested the last parliamentary election from Barishal-5 constituency as an independent candidate, managed the facilities, allegedly bribing some ministers of the previous government and unscrupulous officials of the BR, they said.

Contacted, BR Director General Sardar Shahadat Ali said upon receiving the letter from the ministry, he directed the general managers of both East and West zones to take necessary initiatives in this regard.

BR, amid a huge crisis of manpower, started a private sector association of its commercial and other activities in 1997.

Under the arrangement, a private company, through competitive bidding, will earn the job of selling train tickets as fixed by BR and checking those on board.

The company will give a fixed amount to BR yearly and take the rest of the money they will earn from passengers selling tickets.

Currently, 37 trains are now being operated by private operators, with most of them operated by four companies -- LR Trading, TM Trading, SR Trading, and NL Trading -- reportedly owned by Ripan and his family, sources said.

In the letter, the ministry also said the railway authority in April 2019 decided not to lease out any more trains on private operation due to different complexities.

As per the contacts, the authority can cancel the contract for violations of conditions like carrying people on the trains' rooftops and overcharging passengers.

The letter, however, did not mention any particular reason behind the cancellation of the lease of 24 trains.

BR sources, however, said Ripan has established a monopoly in private operators of railways by opening several companies.

He managed some previous ministers and top officials to continue the jobs without any fresh bidding, they said.

However, the BR DG could not give details on the fate of the rest of the 13 trains that are also operated by private operators.

Meanwhile, a BR official said several petitions are now pending with the High Court over the 13 trains, and that's why the ministry did not take any decision about them.

The ministry, however, asked a joint secretary of the ministry to talk with the Attorney General's Office so that petitions could be disposed of soon, he said, wishing anonymity.

Both zones have already started the process to cancel the contracts and initiate a fresh bidding process soon, BR sources said.

The Daily Star could not reach Ripan over the phone for comments.