Inheritance certificate forgery alleged in Uttar Shahbazpur: case filed against six, including UP chairman
A case has been filed in court against six people, including the current chairman of Uttar Shahbazpur Union Parishad in Barlekha upazila of Moulvibazar, over allegations of forging an inheritance certificate to grab property.
On 11 October, Judge Nazmul Hasan of the Judicial Magistrate Court in Sylhet took the case into cognizance and directed the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) to investigate and submit a report. The plaintiff's lawyer, Advocate Md Saidur Rahman, confirmed the information.
The case (CR No. 313/26) was filed by UK expatriate Lutar Rahman. He is the son of the late Nisar Ali of Supatla village in the Beanibazar municipal area of Sylhet.
The accused are the plaintiff's stepbrothers Abdur Rahman (52) and Fayzur Rahman (50), stepsister Rokeya Begum (48), stepmother Anwara Khatun (65), Md Saidur Rahman (35), son of Abdul Karim of Bhabanipur village in Uttar Shahbazpur Union, and the union's current chairman Rafiq Uddin Ahmad.
According to the case statement and the plaintiff's side, the late Nisar Ali married twice. His first wife had one son, Lutar Rahman, and two daughters, while his second wife had two sons and a daughter. It is alleged that, taking advantage of family members living abroad, their relative Saidur Rahman, in collusion with the second wife's family, forged an inheritance certificate to take the property in their own favour.
The plaintiff alleges that Saidur Rahman, who was in charge of looking after his father's property, at the instigation of the second wife's children obtained a fake inheritance certificate from Uttar Shahbazpur Union Parishad, excluding the three children of the first wife. The case states that, on the basis of that certificate, land and property in the late Nisar Ali's name were recorded.
Returning home from abroad, Lutar Rahman learned of the alleged fake certificate while inquiring about his father's property. He said he contacted his step-siblings about it but received no cooperation, so he went to court.
Lutar Rahman said Saidur Rahman looked after the property as a caretaker, and that the fake certificate was collected excluding the three children of the first wife, after which the property was recorded. He said he was forced to approach the court after getting no cooperation from his step-siblings, and sought everyone's cooperation to get justice.
The other accused could not be reached for comment as they live abroad. However, when Saidur Rahman — named as the applicant for the inheritance certificate — was contacted by phone, he denied the allegation. Claiming he knows nothing about it, he said it is their own problem and they should be contacted. He also introduced himself as a lawyer.
Meanwhile, Uttar Shahbazpur UP chairman Rafiq Uddin Ahmad said by phone that the inheritance certificate was issued on 23 February 2023 following Saidur Rahman's application.
Asked how a certificate could be issued from Uttar Shahbazpur Union for a citizen of Beanibazar, the chairman said he issued the new certificate based on an earlier inheritance certificate signed on 21 July 2021 by the then acting chairman and concerned ward member Selim Khan. He claimed he is not aware of any forgery of the certificate.
When contacted, Selim Khan, the then acting chairman and UP member, said he knows nothing about the matter, and commented that the current chairman may have issued the certificate.
