A case has been filed against two nephews of the late BNP leader Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury and seven others for allegedly attempting to forcibly occupy a flat in Dhaka’s Gulshan and assaulting the residents, including the wife and children of a deceased industrialist.
The case was filed on Monday by Farzana Anna Islam, wife of late businessman Mainul Islam, at the court of Dhaka Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Md Ziadur Rahman.
Farzana alleges that the accused broke into the property, assaulted family members, looted valuables, and tried to extort money while threatening to seize the entire floor of the building.
Her lawyer, Morshed Hossain Shaheen, confirmed the case and said the court has ordered the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to probe the matter and submit a report within one month.
The nine accused are Samir Quader Chowdhury, Shakir Quader Chowdhury both sons of Giasuddin Quader Chowdhury and nephews of SQ Chowdhury; Keshab Chandra Nath, Arefin Shamsul Alam, proprietor of Shamsul Alamin Real Estate Ltd; Harun-or-Rashid, Merina Irshad, Ferdous Munshi, Salauddin Abbasi, Shahabuddin.
According to the case statement, in 2006, the plaintiff and her late husband entered into an agreement with real estate developer Arefin Shamsul Alam to construct a six-storey building in Gulshan Model Town. The couple received ownership of their portion of the property on December 19, 2007. However, Mainul Islam passed away on March 24, 2008.
Following his death, the accused allegedly began efforts to take control of a portion of the property—specifically, the entire second floor—by producing forged ownership documents, the complaint states.
The situation escalated significantly after the political turmoil in July 2024, during which the accused reportedly became more aggressive.
On July 14, the accused allegedly broke into the residence, created panic among occupants, and attempted to take control of the flats by breaking the locks. During this incident, they allegedly demanded Tk 5 crore in extortion and issued threats to the plaintiff.
The situation worsened on August 28, when the accused reportedly stormed the residence again, physically assaulting residents. They allegedly looted Tk 10 lakh in cash and 10 bhori (approximately 117 grams) of gold, and repeated their demand for Tk 5 crore—threatening to seize the flats permanently if the payment was not made.
Before leaving, the accused also vandalized the building’s ground floor garage, causing damages estimated at Tk 3 crore, according to the case statement. The victims later received treatment at Kurmitola General Hospital.
