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Power abuse, graft bring him in spotlight

Staff Correspondent
Unbridled corruption through abuse of power kept Naser Rahman in the limelight during much of the BNP-led four-party alliance rule.
Though there were allegations of graft aplenty against him, no-one dared to press any formal charge against the eldest son of Saifur Rahman, then the finance minister, for fear of reprisal.
Hefty commissions from businesses in exchange for winning them contracts made him astronomically wealthy in a very short span of time.
But things began to change for the worse for him soon after the present military-backed caretaker government took over on January 11 last year. I Ie was detained as a graft suspect on February 4. Then his name came on the Anti-Corruption' Commission's (ACC) first list of corruption suspects on February 18.
Several cases were filed against him on charges that range from graft and extortion to land grab. Including yesterday's, jail terms the now detained former lawmaker has copped so far amount to 22 years.
On September 19 last year, a Sylhet court sentenced him to nine years in prison forextortion.
Nuruzzaman filed the extortion case on February 17 last year. Earlier on October 24, 2003, he held a press conference at Dhaka Reporters Unity and alleged that Naser demanded Tk 2 crore after he had won the contract for building Fenchuganj-Rajnagar Moulvibazar-Jagadishpur regional highway.
In retaliation. Naser filed a false case against Nuruzzaman under Speedy Trial Act. Besides, a group of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal activists loyal to the ex-lawmaker attacked the contractor and left him seriously injured.
Apart from intimidating businesses into giving him cut of their profits, Naser would exert a huge influence on the banking sector during the alliance rule.
He made a hefty amount as he alone supplied all the money counting machines for Bangladesh Bank and other nationalised commercial banks.
Many projects where he had minimum interest or involvement were passed at the cabinet committee on purchase without question. He used to take up to 25 percent commission from busi-ness firms for winning them contracts worth crores of taka.
During the coalition rule, his men were awarded work worth around Tk 1,000 crore without any tender in public works, local government, water development board, zila parishads, public health, roads and highways, north-south irrigation project, forest department and pourasabhas.
He had received a whopping 20 percent commission from those who won the contract to build a Tk 3.27-crore bridge at Lunguchhara on Moulvibazar-Kulaura road, said sources.
During construction of the bridge, he made the authorities allocate Tk 30 lakh for an alternative road that should not have cost more than Tk 8 lakh
He allegedly received Tk 30 lakh for helping a contractor win work worth Tk 8 crore for a road extension and sodium lights installation project in Moulvibazar pourasabha.
Naser grabbed around 60 decimals of land near Sarak Bhaban on the outskirts of Moulvibazar town through forged documents.
He and his brother used their clout to take up a lease on a 200-acrc hilly land for tea cultivation at a stunning rate ofTk 5 per acre.
Sources said Naser Rahman was part of a syndicate responsible for unusual hike in the price of sugar during the alliance rule. His father Saifur Rahman was compelled to reduce import tariffs on sugar before the end of fiscal year 2006-2007.
He used to pull strings in postings and transfers of police and civil servants to and from greater Sylhet.