Photo-collected.
Sylhet Correspondent, Chinmoy Nath //

Over time, sensational information has been coming out against Ratan Moni Mohanty alias Bang Jaliat Mahant. Although this information has been published in the media, for some unknown reason, no visible legal action has been taken by the administration or the ACC. This has led to the attempt to cover up the huge amount of illegal property built up under the umbrella of the Awami League in the past 17 years.

During the investigation, it was learned that when the ACC investigated him during the Awami regime, he was a member of the government party, so he helped some allegedly dishonest Awami-friendly ACC officials and kept himself safe by changing the category of land and evading government revenue of over a crore taka.

A source said that at that time, Ratan Moni rushed to donate several hundred acres of land in Sylhet city to an official of the Sylhet ACC office. Several people who did not want to be named confirmed the truth of this.

The source confirmed to the reporter that when the ACC official was first shown land like Birindar Tila (hill) in Islampur Major Tila Falguni area, the dishonest official expressed his reluctance to take the land. Later, he was taken to Shahparan Mazar area.

It is alleged that Bang Mohant, with the help of that dishonest ACC official, filed a small-scale case against him and hid the huge amount of property. This hampered the ACC investigation.

The source also said that while transferring land, he himself used to give tips in most of the deeds by pretending to be a witness, identifier and owner. At that time, he was accompanied by 3-4 other land grabbers.

Meanwhile, another source said that he has taken possession of the huge property of the late Barrister Anaul Quader Chowdhury Rouf in Debpur Mouza of Majortila area. Rouf left behind 4 wives and children at the time of his death. Out of these, one wife is childless. Two wives are living abroad. Another wife has become someone else’s housewife and has created a happy family. However, the eyes of “Shakun” Ratan fell on that land.

The source confirmed that during Barrister Rauf’s lifetime, even in his absence, no heir sold this huge wealth. On the contrary, his heirs have been kept under threat. A housing project has been built on their land.

On the other hand, the Mahant has also transferred several plots in Murila, Uttara Residential Area. That too, he is grabbing crores of taka by showing the sale of that land at the price of the deed. Several youths from Murila area told the reporter that he is grabbing money by tricking them by registering these lands without registration.

It is worth noting that Ratan Moni Mohant, son of Rasmoy Mohant, lives at 233/E “Rajni Nibas” in Nath Para, Islampur, which is included in Ward No. 32 of Sylhet City Corporation.

It is known from locals that Ratan Mani grew up as a sheltered person in the forest. Later, he became a so-called small farmer (moril). From there, he is the owner of several crores of taka through fraud.

He has unaccounted property all over Sylhet. He has built up a mountain of money. He has accounts in various banks under different names. He has a royal attitude in his behavior. He raised 30/40 terrorists and introduced himself as the king of Nath Para.

Ratan Mani Mohanty became discussed and criticized by the land owners of Sylhet overnight for land fraud by using his profession and the corrupt officials of the land survey office.

Sources say that during the land survey, he was a name of fear. He earned several crores of taka by transferring the land of various people, especially one person in Devpur Mouza, to another. Even if someone goes to buy or sell land, he has to approach him.

The history that followed is known to the people of Sylhet. Ratan Moni’s behavior also changed in the glory of the mountain of illegal wealth. He became a servant of the so-called temple in the area. He tortured Hindus. He grabbed most of the land in Nath Para. He also cut down the hills and made them into sabar.

A few years ago, this land grabber got involved with the politics of the Awami League to avoid controversy. Even then, the discussion around him did not end. Instead, he started spreading rumors day by day, for which people are still angry with him. Now, he is trying to stay under the shadow of the BNP-Jamaat by becoming a spring cuckoo. Recently, a case has been filed against him by the Department of Environment and is pending.

The victims of this much-discussed and criticized land grabber in Sylhet have said that there are many cases against him for corruption and fraud.

Some officials of the land office, who are reluctant to reveal the name of the land office, said that during the Awami government, everyone used to be close to Ratan Moni. Even the settlement officers respected him. Due to his deep connections with the top leaders of Awami League and Chhatra League, everyone in the land records and survey office feared him.

According to various sources and news published in the media, there is no work in the land records department that he has not done. Making the impossible possible with money was his only addiction.

This corrupt Ratan Moni Mohanty has illegally changed the land records of innocent landowners and has embezzled crores of taka.

Some people from Nath Para, who did not want to be named for fear of their lives, said that when the fascist Hasina government fell on August 5, Ratan Moni Mohanty started changing his identity.

First, he hired some local armed terrorists to guard his house so that no one could attack him. At the same time, some Awami League agents started selling the name of BNP-Jamaat and introducing Ratan Moni as a BNP leader. He also spent a huge amount of money on this.

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