MP Papul’s land to be acquired for drain construction in Sylhet

Lakshimpur MP Mohammad Shahid Islam Papul’s land will be acquired for construction of drainage for a narrow road in Sylhet city.

Sylhet City Corporation (SCC) Mayor Ariful Haque Chowdhury said the acquisition of the concerned land is approved by the ministry and preparations are underway to complete the process.

SCC Chief Engineer Nur Azizur Rahman said they sought approval from the Department of Environment to acquire about 10 feet of MP Papul’s land and the approval will arrive within a few days.   

Previously, a few months ago Papul refused to spare a small portion from the half an acre land he owns in Sylhet for the drain construction, according to sources from the SCC.

"MP Papul and his wife (Comilla reserved seat MP Selina Islam) bought the land along with a CNG filling station on it from me at a price of Tk9 crore in 2009," said Ataullah Saker, a prominent businessman in the city.

Since that time the filling station is closed and MP Papul hired men to look after the land which has remained abandoned ever since, according to sources.

Locals speculated that the land was bought with the motive of expanding Papul's human trafficking and money laundering activities, as he made visits to the locality after the purchase.

Papul was requested to spare a marginal portion of his land for acquisition to construct a drain by the Naiorpul road. The road is the entry point to Tamabil Highway and is not wide enough.

Although surrounding landowners accepted the land acquisition offer and agreed to spare two to three feet of their land, Papul refused and threatened to take actions. This resulted in the postponement of the drain construction plans, said sources from the SCC.

On June 6, Kuwaiti authorities arrested Papul and pressed charges of human trafficking and money laundering against him.

Papul's yearly profits from bringing in migrant workers in Kuwait is estimated to be at 2 million Kuwaiti Dinars (1 dinar = $3.25 approx), according to investigators in the middle eastern country.  

This is the net profit Papul made after deducting all bribes and gifts he spent to profit from the labourers he brought in from Bangladesh, reports Arab Times.