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Crime, politics made rickshaw garage owner filthy rich

M Abul Kalam Azad
Once a petty trader in Old Dhaka, Nasiruddin Ahmed Pintu, has managed to establish himself as a wealthy individual over the years, initially through a reign of terror unleashed by his gang of thugs in the locality, and then by using his political influence.
Pintu, who is running for the Dhaka-7 seat in the parliament on a BNP-led four-party ticket, earns nearly Tk 1 crore annually and has a huge amount of cash deposits, shares, and properties worth over Tk 37 crore, reveals his wealth statement submitted to the Election Commission (EC) with his nomination papers.
He also owns a number of business establishments and lands in various places in and around the city, says the disclosure.
The former president of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD), the erstwhile student wing of BNP, said in his statement that his annua) earning is Tk 97.56 lakh while his expenditure isTk2.70 lakh.
Pintu, who first became a lawmaker by winning the 2001 parliamentary election in the area on a BNP ticket,
said the major chunk of his earnings comes from his savings and shares while Tk 10.18 lakh andTk52,700 come from his businesses and house rents respectively.
His wife, Nasima Akhter, is also wealthy enough. She earns about Tk 11 lakh annually while her total wealth amounts toTk3crore.
The long list of Pintu's assets mentions he has Tk 17 crore invested in various financial instruments like fixed deposit receipts (FDR), bonds, shares and different other securities such as savings certificates. He has Tk 1.16 crore in cash, and vehicles worthTk 68.74 lakh.
He estimated the value of his 26.93 bigha land at Tk 2.04 crore while the value of his two tin-shed houses were estimated at Tk 56.23 lakh. He is the proprietor of Asha
Enterprise, the director of Diamond Bread House, and the managing director of Diamond Spinning Mills Ltd.
He reportedly started with a small makeshift rickshaw garage built illegally on a land that he had encroached upon in Hazaribagh area in the late 1980s.
In the '90s he became a follower of former Awami League (AL) lawmaker of the area, Haji Selim, and got promoted to the major league of unlawful activities, includ-ingextortion.
Later, Pintu deserted Selim and formed his own gang of hooligans in Old Dhaka and joined JCD. He started earning notoriety through extortion and illegal grabbing of lands, while he was the Dhaka city unit leader of JCD.
He managed to climb to the posts of the general secre-
tary and the president of JCD, despite being the thug he was.
He and his gang were responsible for a number of gun battles and killings on Dhaka University campus during the last AL regime.
A total of eight cases, including for murders, were filed against Pintu during that period but he was acquitted in all of them.
Since the launching of the anti-graft drive by the current military backed caretaker government, 11 criminal cases were filed against him on a plethora of charges including tax evasion, extortion, and amassing of illegal wealth.
He was subsequently exonerated from two of the cases, and was granted bail in rhe remaining nine. Now in jail, he might come out any time, many fear. He maintains
control over his criminal gang from jail, JCD sources said.
Although there is widespread doubts about Pintu's educational qualification, he claims he has a master's degree in commerce, while his followers claim although he studied only up to class V, he 'managed' a certificate of higher education from Jagannath College.
He will spend Tk 14 lakh in his election campaign, he declared in the statement, Tk 5 lakh of which will come from his own pocket while he will get Tk 4 lakh from his cousin Harun-or -Rashid, and another Tk 5 lakh from his brother Nasirn Ahmed.
Known as a notorious godfather of thugs, Pintu owes Tk 7.45 crore to individuals and financial institutions.