The villain of the July shooting at the student crowd in TangailAL ally Zafar worth hundreds of crores of taka

The fascist Hasina government fell on August 5 last year. After that, many of the journalists who became millionaires in Dhaka who were allies of the Awami League have been arrested. And many of those against whom cases have been filed have gone into hiding to avoid arrest. The details of the illegal assets of these journalists who were collaborators in various misdeeds of the previous fascist government have been published in the media. The people of the country are shocked to hear the news of such mountain-sized assets of journalists.

The question has arisen in the public mind that journalists have become slaves of Hasina's dictatorship by selling their ethics and morality instead of standing up for the people in the interest of the country. These corrupt journalists have already been exposed. But the aggrieved parties want to know why the administration is not arresting Awami League supporters at the district level.

They are still at large after Sheikh Hasina fled. One of them is Tangail Press Club President Zafar Ahmed. He was deeply involved in various misdeeds of the Awami League in the last 17 years. He has built a mountain of illegal wealth by taking immoral benefits from the fallen government. Accusations of acquiring illegal wealth worth hundreds of crores of taka have been filed against him with the ACC. Currently, under the guise of journalism, he is providing all kinds of assistance to the fugitive Awami League leaders, including protecting their assets, looking after their businesses, exchanging secret information and protecting them from lawsuits.

After the fall of the Hasina government on August 5, many such complaints came to the office of 'The Finance Today' from the district level. In view of this, a team recently went to Tangail on the spot. The village was shocked to hear about the illegal wealth of hundreds of crores of taka acquired by Tangail Press Club President Zafar Ahmed in the last 17 years and the terrible information found under the guise of journalism. The extent of torture and oppression suffered by the people of Tangail by this evil-minded person will be revealed to the public in the next issue. The people of Tangail have demanded that Zafar be arrested and the wealth and crores of taka acquired by him from illegal earnings be confiscated.

Many sensational facts were revealed during the on-site investigation about Zafar. Shocking information was found about his involvement in the shooting and attack on students and the public in Tangail during the July Revolution last year. The day before Hasina fled, on August 4, at noon, students and the public took out a huge procession in the city. When the procession passed through a secluded intersection and came in front of Vivekananda School and College, Awami terrorists opened fire on the procession from inside the school. Fifty students and the public were seriously injured in the attack and shooting by the terrorists. District Awami League General Secretary Joaherul Islam, sitting in the principal's room, ordered the shooting and attack. Half an hour later, the students and the public gathered and entered the school. Joaher Islam's private car was broken into there. Upon receiving the news, Tangail Press Club President Jafar Ahmed and General Secretary Nasir Uddin arrived at the scene. The two of them rescued Joaherul Islam and took him safely to the Tangail Press Club.

Recently, this reporter spoke to an officer of an intelligence agency in Tangail to find out this sensational information. He said that various plans were made to suppress the movement a few days before August 5. After checking the call lists of some top Awami League leaders in the district, the involvement of a top journalist leader in Tangail was found. The audio calls are being verified. Once the investigation is completed, whoever is involved will be brought to justice. He also said that neither money nor power can protect them.

A land trader in Tangail said that Tangail Press Club President Zafar Ahmed, along with former MP Tanvir Hasan Chhota Monir of Tangail-2 constituency (Gopalpur-Bhuapur), forcibly occupied 72 percent of the land adjacent to the wall of Nasir Glass Factory on the Dhaka-Tangail-Jamuna Setu highway. Using fake documents, one person each registered to receive this land on behalf of journalists Zafar Ahmed and Chhota Monir. When asked, the real owners of the land said that journalist Zafar Ahmed called us to the press club and said, "You cannot do it with the MP by force. Instead, take some money and settle the matter. Otherwise, bring two crore taka, I will settle it."

When asked in various conversations with some journalists at a restaurant in Tangail, they said that after August 5 last year, a massive lawsuit business started in Tangail. Three top BNP leaders are behind this case. An anti-discrimination student leader joined them. However, journalist Zafar Ahmed is in the main control of this group. He is doing this lawsuit business sitting in the press club. This group has already embezzled about 10 crore taka through lawsuit business. This lawsuit business of Zafar's group is an open secret in Tangail.

According to information provided by several close associates of Zafar Ahmed, businessmen and people from various professions, Tangail Press Club president Zafar Ahmed has amassed illegal wealth worth Tk 1 billion in the last 17 years by capitalizing solely on his journalism career. He is also the district correspondent of the Daily Jugantor newspaper and Baishakhi Television.

In the nineties, Jafar had nothing to introduce himself to in the city. Even if he could buy a pair of pants, he did not have the money to buy a belt. Jute rope was the only alternative to a belt. At that time, he was an advertising representative for the Daily Jahan newspaper published from Mymensingh. He used to deliver the newspaper to various offices and courts himself. However, currently his family members move around Dhaka in a jeep worth 7 million taka. He has several flats in Dhaka, including two flats in the Mahanagar project adjacent to the elite residential areas of Uttara and Hatirjheel. Among these flats, the family's flat is decorated with modern decorations and luxurious furniture. And he has spent 1.5 to 2 crore taka on it. If you look at his luxurious house in the West Akur Takur Para of Tangail Municipal Area, it looks like the house of a modern neo-zamindar. It is alleged that he has also forged the documents of that house. He also has three plots in the housing project of Tangail city. The current value of which is 10 to 12 crore taka. There are 40 to 45 shops in the city's elite markets, both named and anonymous. The current value of these shops is 20 to 25 crore taka.

Sources say that Tangail Press Club is not just a press club. It is like a golden deer to Zafar. The construction of the press club began in 1999. At that time, Zafar was the general secretary of the club. After the construction work started, in order to establish sole dominance in the club, the president of the press club, Kamrul Hasan Chowdhury, was framed in a false case of rape of his son and expelled from the press club. As a result, Zafar's sole dominance was established. President Kamrul Hasan Chowdhury left Tangail with this heinous slander and started living in Dhaka. Kamrul Hasan Chowdhury, one of the founders of the press club, died a tragic death in shame and hatred. His family members have not forgotten the responsibility of their father's false slander to this day. The family lives in the comfort that they will have to face this trial only from Allah.

It can be seen on the ground that the Press Club building, which is built on about 16 percent of the land, has now been raised to four floors. The ground floor is the market, the second floor is the shopping mall, the third floor is the Press Club, and the fourth floor is the Press Club Community Center. The surprising thing is that this huge building is illegal. That is, the building was built without the approval of the municipality's plan. As a result, there is a fear that the building will collapse at any time, causing massive loss of life. No account has been kept of the construction of this building. Theft and looting have been going on since the beginning of the construction of the building. To prevent the looting from being revealed, Zafar Ahmed disappeared the resolution book of the Press Club long ago. He also resorted to widespread corruption in the allocation of shops. Out of the total 24 shops in the market, all the shops except two are 7 feet * 9 feet in size. The price has been fixed at 1.5 lakh taka. However, the first shop in the market is 14 feet * 14 feet in size. The price of this shop has also been fixed at 1.5 lakh taka. That is, even though it is a shop of double the size, the price is the same. Because this shop was allotted in the name of the press club president Zafar Ahmed's own brother. At first, he allotted it in his brother's name and later registered it with his brother. A 40-foot by 22-foot restaurant on the second floor of the club was allotted for the club members. The president also secretly sold that restaurant for 3 million taka. Recently, an elevator was added to the press club. Although the tender for the elevator financed by the district council mentioned a Japanese brand, the president and general secretary embezzled about 1 million taka by installing an elevator of a notorious Chinese company in collusion with the district council. When a dispute arose over the distribution of this money, the matter came to light. But the members of the press club lost to their filth. Since professional journalists did not confront Zafar for fear of false cases and honor, the Tangail press club is losing its tradition. People are expressing reluctance to value a noble profession like journalism.

The investigation also revealed that during the One Eleven government, Zafar Ahmed was the councilor of Ward No. 3 of the municipality. With the help of the army, Zafar seized the post of acting mayor by conspiring to arrest the then mayor Jamilur Rahman Miron. Taking charge of the mayor, he demolished two toilets in the city's Capsule Market. Later, he built a shop there and sold it for 2.5 million taka. The citizens' committee has repeatedly demanded that the two shops be demolished and toilets be rebuilt. Although the municipal authorities have assured to take action in this regard at various times, it has not been implemented yet. In this way, the cunning Zafar Ahmed is now the owner of hundreds of crores of taka.

There are allegations that the house he is currently living in is occupied. About 30 percent of the land was given to him by a close relative for living. He later seized it using forged documents. Ward Awami League General Secretary Sona Mia and Zafar Ahmed jointly purchased six percent of the land next to the house last year. But they have occupied nine percent. Although the landowner has sought redress in various places, he has not been able to recover the three percent of the land he has occupied.

Locals told this reporter that one of the sources of Jafar's income is buying and selling land. Jafar Ahmed is the godfather of all the land grabbers in and around the municipal area of ​​Kagmara. Using the influence of journalism, he buys the land of innocent people for a low price and sells it at a high price by intimidating them. When the party comes to power, he builds friendships with the leaders of that party and runs the land business in this way. Jafar also changes parties with the change of government. That is, he always supports the government party.

Sources say that Jafar has bought land worth crores of taka in joint ownership with at least half a dozen fugitive Awami land grabbers and has kept it in his possession.

Zafar Ahmed has a network of some named extortionist journalists throughout the district. The members of this network regularly deliver the extortion money to Zafar. Zafar has a powerful broker network in the District Registry Office, Passport Office, BRTA, General Hospital and Medical College Hospital. These government offices also have their own forces to collect monthly extortion. All of them are named and card-holding journalists. There is no example of them writing a single letter for the country and the victims.

If any government office does not work as he says, fake journalists are deployed. Taking advantage of the situation by publishing false and fake news is another big source of income for Jafar. In this way, he has kept all the government offices in the district under his control for almost 30 years. Government employees are fed up with his tyranny. But they have no place to speak or protest.

During the time of the fallen government, Zafar lobbied an OC regarding a case. It is alleged that the OC did not take into account Zafar's false lobbying and was subjected to extreme abuse.

According to information provided by relatives of Zafar Ahmed, there are assets worth crores of taka in Tangail under various names and anonymously. He and his family members have accounts of several crores of taka in various state-owned and private banks, insurance companies and investment institutions. This matter is known to everyone, including the journalistic community, civil society, leaders and activists of various political parties, the administration, and various intelligence agencies in Tangail. However, for many, the matter is like a fairy tale. At least 10 complaints have been filed with the Anti-Corruption Commission regarding his illegal acquisition of wealth. Most of the details of the assets found in these complaints are visible.

ACC sources said that these issues are being investigated. An ACC official said that since Jafar is a journalist, he is being subjected to various forms of lobbying.

Using his journalistic influence, Zafar became the general secretary and later vice-president of the District Red Crescent, president of the country's first-rate NGO Setu, government diabetic hospital, district scouts, district bus-coach-minibus owners' association, district truck owners' association, general hospital patient welfare association, Tangail SP Park, Tangail DC Lake, Tangail district clinic and diagnostic owners' association, and occupied top positions in at least 30 social organizations. He assumed these positions with the blessings of top Awami League leaders, MPs and ministers. He also occupied the posts of general secretary and president of the press club with the support of Awami. In return for all this, journalist Zafar was responsible for covering up the occupation, nomination, extortion, lawsuit, recruitment, control of all the sand palaces in the district, and all the misdeeds including murders. No journalist dared to publish these news. Those who dared to publish a few pieces of news were inevitably expelled from the press club and arrested on false charges.

Many journalists are still caught in the net of defamation cases, including ICT. In the last 17 years of the fascist Awami League, Jafar has expelled at least 10 journalists with different views from Tangail. Many of them have left journalism and gone to other professions.

It is known from talking to many journalists in Tangail that after the 11th, Zafar Ahmed seized the post of general secretary of the Tangail Press Club with the support of top leaders of the Awami League. To maintain this position and dominance, the president of the district Awami League and chairman of the district council, Fazlur Rahman Faruk, and his son, the organizing secretary of the district Awami League, Khan Ahmed Shuvo, gave membership to the press club. At least 15 Awami League leaders, including the general secretary of the district Awami League and former MP, Zoyaherul Islam, Tangail Sadar MP and Awami League leader Chanowar Hossain, district Jubo League vice-president and transport businessman Golam Kibria Baro Moni, and district Awami League executive member Sujoy Deb, were given membership to the press club. In addition, he gave membership to at least 20 Awami League supporters through fake degree certificates. In this way, Zafar has held on to power for years through a huge vote bank.

During the last 17 years of the Awami League, the Tangail Press Club became the alternative office of the district Awami League. He used to get a share of all the illegal income of the Awami leaders. When the fascist Hasina government fell on August 5, the angry journalists threw out Zafar Ahmed and his associates from the press club. At that time, the journalists broke up the daily gambling hangout of the Awami League general secretary and his followers in the press club. But for unknown reasons, the top leaders of the district BNP gave Zafar Ahmed shelter and reinstated him.

Zafar Ahmed, son of the late Abdul Gani Sarkar, was once involved in the politics of the JSD. In 2006, he became a member of the BNP district committee in exchange for money. Then, he got the post of joint secretary of the district BNP by paying a large sum of money. In 2011, Zafar contested for the post of mayor of Tangail Municipality as a BNP candidate. However, the day before the election, he withdrew from the election in exchange for crores of taka after colluding with the Awami League candidate. Then, when the Awami League formed the government, he changed his mind and became an Awami League member. He even attracted the evil eye of the leaders by chanting the slogan "Joy Bangla" in the party agendas of the Awami League. People have a video of Zafar's "Joy Bangla" slogan captured on his mobile phone. In 2022, at a discussion meeting at the Shaheed Smriti Municipal Park, he also demanded that this day be observed as a national day of mourning all over the world. His demand went viral instantly. The entire people of Tangail are now demanding the arrest of the multifaceted, power-hungry, and money-hungry Awami League ally Jafar and other journalists who are his accomplices in various misdeeds.

When talking to some BNP leaders, the leaders told this reporter that during the Awami League government, Zafar Ahmed was vocal against BNP leaders and activists. Now he is again making two top leaders guests in exchange for money in various programs. BNP's image is being tarnished in Tangail over this issue. Since such a characterless person quickly changed his mind and became a BNP leader, several groupings have been born in Tangail. Many have succumbed to Zafar's cunning to destroy BNP in Tangail. Zafar Ahmed should be stopped from participating in various meetings and processions immediately. Otherwise, it will have an adverse effect on the entire Tangail in the upcoming national elections.

When the Baishakhi TV authorities were asked about Tangail district representative Zafar Ahmed, the authorities said that action will be taken against Zafar after looking into this matter. In response to another question, the TV authorities said that many of his documents have come into our hands. Action will definitely be taken after verification.

In response to a question about whether the organization's reputation is being tarnished because of this representative, an official of Baisakhi TV said, "No one who harms or defames the organization can be kept."

Sources say that although Zafar Ahmed, a close Awami League ally and former head of news Ashok Chowdhury, is not active in Tangail's news coverage, he is a familiar face to everyone as the mastermind of the lobbying.

When asked about this, the Jugantor newspaper authorities said that they are investigating the allegations raised against Zafar Ahmed.

A senior official of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said in this regard, "We have already received complaints through various channels. Some videos and data have also come to us. Subject to investigation, action will be requested to be taken at his workplace."