An infrastructure project on the Sunamganj-Kachirpathi-Biswambharpur road has descended into acrimony, with allegations that ruling party lawmaker Nurul Islam as Nurul and his associates demanded Tk1 crore in extortion from the project contractor.
The contractor, Shafikul Islam, proprietor of Islam Traders, formally lodged complaints with the Home Minister on Tuesday, followed by a duplicate submission to the Prime’s Minister’s Office on Wednesday.
The dispute centres on the construction of the Muktarkhola-1 and Salampur bridges, part of a Tk87crore regional road development scheme that has ground to a halt amidst mounting political hostility.
According to the written complaints, the MP and his loyalists demanded Tk1 crore in protection money, subjecting the contractor to persistent intimidation when the payment was not forthcoming.
Shafikul claimed that local BNP and Jubo Dal leaders had pressured him to settle with the lawmaker, whilst police were dispatched to his Sylhet residence.
He also alleged that he was falsely implicated in a terrorism case stemming from a banned Chhatra League procession in September, as well as a previous fisheries dispute.
The tensions boiled over on Tuesday afternoon. As MP Nurul travelled past the Salampur bridge site, he questioned the construction quality and ordered work to be suspended. Local residents and witnesses alleged that the lawmaker’s entourage assaulted several site workers, including roller driver Monir, payloader operator Kabir Ahmed, and site contractor Hossain Ahmed.
On Wednesday, MP Nurul returned to inspect the bridges alongside local residents, voicing outrage over alleged structural defects.
“The contractor’s allegations are a fabricated attempt to cover up substandard work,” Nurul said, refuting both the extortion claims and the assault accusations.
The lawmaker explained that he had stopped at the site after local villagers flagged severe structural flaws, including a five-foot displacement and cracking in the bridge’s retaining walls.
He noted that the Roads and Highways Department’s executive engineer had been invited to inspect the site on Wednesday morning, but neither the primary contractor nor his subcontractors attended.
“This syndicate operates like a mafia, attempting to run projects with the same impunity they enjoyed under the past fascist regime,” Nurul said, welcoming a full government investigation into both the construction quality and the extortion claims, whilst threatening legal action against his accusers.
