A Dhaka court on Thursday granted a two-day police remand for Haridas Chandra Tarani Das, the entrepreneur behind the construction of Ram Bigraha in Palashbari, Gaibandha, in connection with a case involving the embezzlement of Tk75,86,000 through flat sale fraud.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Kamal Uddin passed the order following a hearing after Sub-Inspector Masud Rana of Uttara West Police Station, the investigating officer of the case, produced Haridas in court and sought a seven-day remand.
Prosecutor Muhammad Shamsud Doha Sumon argued in favour of the remand on behalf of the state. Defence lawyer Basudeb Guha applied for the cancellation of the remand and submitted a bail petition.
After hearing both sides, the court rejected the bail application and granted a two-day remand.
Earlier, on the night of 12 July, detective police arrested Haridas Chandra Tarani from Gaibandha in connection with a money laundering case filed with Uttara West Police Station.
He was produced in court the following day, where the court granted a four-day remand in that case, and he was sent to prison on 16 July upon completion of the remand.
On 24 August, while Haridas was in prison, Mahbubur Rahman, an official at a private company, filed a fraud case with Uttara West Police Station against Haridas Chandra Tarani and Obaidul Islam over flat sales.
Investigating officer SI Masud Rana applied the next day to show Haridas arrested in the case, and the court officially showed him arrested on 1 September.
On 3 September, the investigating officer applied for a seven-day remand, and the court fixed Thursday for the hearing in the presence of the accused.
How the scam unfolded
According to the case statement, plaintiff Mahbubur Rahman and accused Obaidul Islam are college friends living in the Uttara Sector 12 area.
Obaidul introduced himself as the owner of Onoy Developer Company and said their office was located in the Nikunja area of Khilkhet.
Mahbubur Rahman subsequently expressed interest in purchasing a flat in Nikunja and initially gave Obaidul Tk10,85,000. Later, claiming that the construction work was nearing completion, Obaidul demanded a further Tk15 lakh, which Mahbubur paid.
According to the complaint, despite receiving the money, Obaidul repeatedly delayed handing over the flat and refused to refund the cash when requested.
When Mahbubur visited Obaidul’s office in Nikunja to demand his money back, he was informed that Obaidul’s business partner, Haridas Chandra Tarani, was coming.
Haridas arrived at the office and told Mahbubur that he did not have cash available but owned flats and could provide one instead. Believing his words, Mahbubur paid an additional Tk45 lakh.
In total, the two accused misappropriated Tk75,86,000 from the victim. Mahbubur Rahman alleged that despite taking the entire sum, the accused neither handed over the flat nor returned the money.
