Go to North Oxford Mission Road area of Barisal city and see the tall building called 'Panna Palace'. On the front door of the house is written quite large 'Bir Malik Md. Monir Hossain Mia'. Before August 5, the owner of this building. Monir Hossain was the officer-in-charge (OC) of Sadar police station in Bhola.
Before that, various allegations of irregularities and corruption were raised against him while serving as OC in two other police stations of the same district. It is said that departmental inquiry committee was formed several times regarding these allegations, but it survived again and again due to the strength of an influential member of parliament of the then government.
OC Md. A complaint was lodged by a victim against Monir Hossain Mia at the Barisal regional office of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on 24 December 2023. There, the accused police officer and his family's huge amount of illegal wealth was presented.
According to the complaint, apart from this house named Panna Palace, he and his wife Shahnaz Panna have several plots of land in Kaunia and Amtala Mor areas of Barisal city. There is a huge farmhouse in North Kazlakathi village of Bakerganj upazila of Barisal district.
His wife Shahnaz Panna is not far behind in wealth than OC Monir. Although not involved in any kind of earning, he has a private car, 130 bhari of gold and land in his name. From 2020 to 2023, OC Monir and his family were able to build a mountain of wealth while serving in Bhola Charfashan and Borhanuddin police stations.
It is alleged that he used to earn money by selling hilsa seized during gambling and government raids. In September 2020, a woman named Fatema Begum from Kulchumbagh village of local Aminabad Union filed a complaint against Monir Hossain for extortion by keeping her in the police station while she was in Charfashion police station.
After that, in 2023, during the duty of Borhanuddin police station, in view of several complaints, an investigation committee was formed headed by a senior officer of the Bhola police superintendent's office. But on the recommendation of the then local MP and central leader of Awami League, Tofail Ahmed, the investigation process of the committee was stopped, said a source. Instead, he was later posted to Bhola Sadar police station.
However, on August 5, OC Monir's image of power changed due to political changes. He is currently attached to the office of the District Superintendent of Police.
ACC Barisal office deputy director HM Aktaruzzaman said that the complaint against Monir Hossain has been taken into consideration and a preliminary investigation has been conducted. There is evidence of the inconsistency of his wealth. The matter has been informed to the central office. Action will be taken against him as per further instructions.
Meanwhile, when Monir Hossain Mia was contacted regarding such a large amount of wealth, he said that he was in a meeting and would contact this reporter later. After several attempts to contact him on his mobile phone, he could not be found.
On the other hand, when contacted on his wife Shahnaz Panna's personal mobile phone, she hung up on being identified as a journalist.
Shaun Khan/FA/ASM
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