Matiur Rahman, a former member of the National Board of Revenue (NBR), who became the main character of the current issue of the country, was born in Bahadurpur village in Muladi upazila of Barishal. The people of his village know him as Pintu.
In the neighboring Babuganj upazila, Motiur Rahman Pintu, who studied from his aunt's house, has been criticized throughout the village for his massive wealth and his second wife. Villagers are shocked by the question of how the son of a school teacher built such a huge wealth.
Matiur Rahman Pintu does not have much wealth in his village Muladi. But the relatives have a lot of wealth including houses, cars. And all this has been possible with the help of Matiur Rahman Pintu. Locals claim that soon after Matiur Rahman became a revenue officer, the other members of the family became rich.
On Wednesday (June 26) in Bahadurpar village of Kazirchar Union of Muladi, it can be seen that Motiur Rahman's village house has a beautiful two-storied luxury house and various structures. Crossing the paved bridge built over the canal, entering the house, one can see the beautiful madrasa and mosque. Three storied madrasa on one side and two storied mosque on the other side. Between the two structures there is a huge gate. We have to cross that gate to Matiur Rahman Pintu's house. However, no one was found in that house on Wednesday afternoon. The lock hangs on the collapsible gate of the house. Even though there were people inside, they hid when they saw the journalists.
Rahmania Technical School and BM College is on the south side of Matiur Rahman Pintu's house. A three-storey cyclone shelter has been constructed next to it which is being used as a college building. Meanwhile, the two banks of the canal that runs diagonally in front of Pintu's house have been blocked with cement blocks. Two separate paved roads have been constructed on both sides of the canal. In front of every house on both sides of the canal, numerous cots have been built. Several bridges have been built over the canal.
Locals claim that a project of around hundred crore takas has been implemented through government departments to protect their homes and their relatives with the efforts of former revenue officer Matiur Rahman Pintu.
Matiur Rahman Pintu’s second brother is Qayyum Sher Howlader who once was a teacher but is currently a big industrialist in Dhaka. His two-storied house is next to the police station in Muladi town area. Qayyum Howladar lives in that house when he comes to the village.
Pintu's younger brother Nurul Huda has a multi-storied building in Barishal Muladi's Parerhat Bazar. A clinic was opened in the same building named after Pintu's mother. Locals claim that the clinic is currently closed. Apart from this, the family members also have a lot of land in the village. Although these properties belong to Motiur's family, no one knows who the real owner is.
Locals claim that all the institutions have been built through Hawladar Foundation. Even the institutions are not being managed through that foundation. However, the villagers do not know who is involved in this foundation and what the source of the money is.
Local resident Md. Abdus Sattar told Barta24.com, 'Hakim Howladar, father of former NBR member Pintu known as Motiur Rahman, once worked in a factory in Tongi, Dhaka. From there he started teaching in primary school. After retirement, he contested for the post of chairman in the Kazirchar Union Parishad elections and was elected.
After that he served for 9 consecutive years. The house built in the village was built by Hakim Howladar, claims Abdus Satter. However, local residents do not know how Motiur and his family became the owners of so much wealth.
It is known that Motiur's father Hakim Howladar was elected to the post of Kazirchar UP Chairman in 2003 after retiring from the primary school job. During his lifetime he was the Vice President of Kazirchar Union BNP. Muladi was elected chairman after defeating Yusuf Ali, the current coordinator of Upazila 14 party alliance. Again, at the time of 1/11, the term of the chairman's post ended, but Hakim remained in charge of the chairman for another four years in various ways.
On the other hand, Matiur was brilliant from his school days. However, due to the financial instability of the family, he studied from his aunt's house in Babuganj upazila, which is near Muladi. Among the 3 brothers and 2 sisters in the family, the elder Motiur Rahman Pintu was close to the family of BNP leader Mosharef Hossain Mongu during the BNP regime.
He served in Trade Cadre in 11th BCS before moving to Revenue Cadre. Trade Cadre Officers get the opportunity to move to other Cadres as per their choice when the Trade Cadre was abolished. And after Motiur's joining as a revenue officer, there was no looking back for this family.
A few local Awami League and BNP leaders, who did not wish to be named, said that Hakim Howlader's family was not well-off until Motiur became powerful as a revenue officer. The amount of land in the village was not much. However, the financial picture of this family started to change after the rise of Motiur as a revenue officer during the post-91 BNP regime.
They also said that Motiur Rahman's younger brother Qayyum Howlader started his career as a teacher. After his brother became a revenue officer, he embarked on a mission to protect wealth. He built a travel bag manufacturing factory in Tongi, the capital of Dhaka. Before the goat scandal, that is, a month before Eid, Qayyum Howlader took a loan of Tk. 300 crore from Sonali Bank under the influence of his elder brother Matiur Rahman. Although his father is a BNP leader, Qayyum recently made his name in Awami League politics in Muladi. He tried to build dominance under the influence of Motiur spent a lot of money to make his father chairman. Because in 2003 apart from Motiur, the other brothers were not independent.
Meanwhile, the local people did not know about Matiur's second marriage even though they knew that he had become wealthy in Dhaka. Masum, a neighbor of Motiur's village, told Barta24.com that all of Motiur Rahman's family lives in Dhaka. They do not have much commute to their village home. There is a caretaker to look after the village house. He has also a house in Khulna.
He said that in 2018, Motiur Rahman's father Abdul Hakim Hawladar passed away. Then Motiur Rahman came home. The next year he came home only for a few hours after hearing about his mother's illness. His younger brother Nurul Huda and second brother Qayyum Hawladar occasionally come to the house. He said that Nurul Huda came and sacrificed a day before Eid. Later he returned to Dhaka.
Principal of Bahadurpur Rahmania Technical School and BM College Khalilur Rahman told Barta 24.com, "The founder of this organization is Motiur Rahman. The institution has gone public. The current president here is Motiur Rahman. But I have joined for about 8 months. He did not come to the village even once. If any decision is required regarding the management of the school, he is contacted by phone. We have had no contact with him since the current incident.
Locals complained that the canal was filled during the establishment of Bahadurpur Technical School and BM College. Local farmers and public representatives opposed this but they did not get any benefit. They had to succumb to the influence of Motiur Rahman.
In this regard, Chairman of Muladi's Kazirchar Union, Montu Biswas told Barta24.com that the farmers of the area protested when the institution was being built. But nothing worked. Blocked tidal canals make it difficult for farmers to irrigate their crops during the dry season.