We are appalled at the blatant abuse of power by a former MP of Narsingdi that extended to misappropriation of fertiliser meant for the benefit of farmers as well as allegedly grabbing land of helpless people. Reportedly, a suit has been filed in court by the state-run Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC), and the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has launched an investigation following a suo moto rule by a High Court bench. We cannot help but wonder whether such large-scale corruption involving around 71,801 tonnes of imported chemical fertiliser would have been exposed had those organisations or the High Court not taken a stand against it.

As revealed through a report by this paper, the former lawmaker, with the help of his henchmen, had also been involved in allegedly coercing people to sell their land at prices much lower than the market rates, and building boundary walls and occupying the land if they refused to comply. In fact, he was so powerful that many victims were too scared to file a case, fearing repercussions. It was also revealed that nearly 50 people from different areas of the Palash upazilla brought allegations of land grabbing against him.

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The fact that such abuse of power could have gone on for so many years and on such a scale points to the impunity and infallibility that many ruling party leaders enjoy in their constituencies. In this particular case, the former lawmaker used his position as president of Bangladesh Fertiliser Association to get major contracts to transport the imported fertiliser, a large part of which he allegedly misappropriated. Was it not a conflict of interest for someone to head an organisation responsible for supplying fertiliser to farmers to also have a business that would financially benefit from getting contracts to transport it?

We hope that the ACC probe results in starting the process of bringing him to justice. In addition, we urge the authorities to initiate a thorough investigation into the land grabbing allegations that will result in the return of the lands to their rightful owners.