Where the government-set fee is only a few hundred taka, service recipients have to pay anywhere from 10,000 to 200,000 taka for simple tasks like registration, deposit rejection and correction of ledger at the Paikgachha Upazila Land Office in Khulna. There have been allegations that the common people are being subjected to extreme harassment due to the violence of the broker gang and the internal syndicate of the office.
Investigations revealed that if money is not paid, files are withheld, unreasonable errors are shown on the paper, or months are turned around.
The victims complain that the delay starts as soon as they apply directly. Sometimes they are told that 'there is no AC land', sometimes 'the report has not come'. Right then, the broker gang comes forward and demands a large sum of money by tempting them to 'do the job quickly'.
Multiple sources claim that a coordinated syndicate inside and outside the office controls these irregularities. The finger of complaint has been raised by the land office surveyor Md. Shahidul Islam, office assistant, towards Amritya and Jihad. Earlier, a case was filed against Amritya and Jihad Ullah by a person named Nazrul Islam of Pratapkati village of the upazila on charges of corruption. It is alleged that this syndicate is run under his leadership and the money collected is divided at the end of the day. There are also rumors that the money is extorted by intimidation of the service recipients through brokers by smuggling information from the office.
It is known that a person named Syed Salam Ullah is present at the land office every day during office hours, introducing himself as a former freedom fighter. It is alleged that he is colluding with officials and extorting lakhs of taka from the common people.
Recently, he took 10,000 taka from a woman named Sabina Begum of Batikhali village on the pretext of getting work. Later, when the matter came to light, he was forced to return the money. Although attempts were made to contact him in this regard, he could not be found.
When asked about the complaint, Surveyor Md. Shahidul Islam refused to comment. He said, “The higher authorities will speak on this issue.”
Assistant Commissioner (Land) Fazle Rabbi denied the existence of a broker gang in the office and said, “All employees, including surveyors, are performing their duties according to the rules. Many times, baseless allegations are made. If someone transacts money without permission outside the office, it is illegal. If the victims directly file a written complaint, we will take strict action. We are regularly monitoring to prevent irregularities.”
However, despite the denial from the administration, the suffering of the common people and the picture at the field level say otherwise. Locals have sought the intervention of higher authorities to stop these irregularities.
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