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Shariatpur Correspondent: A land official in Shariatpur has been accused of taking a Tk 20,000 bribe through a mobile financial service to issue a Tk 10 land development tax (khajna) receipt, and later coercing the payer into denying the transaction.
The allegation was made against Liton Dewan, a tahsildar at the Joynagar Union Land Office in Jajira Upazila. The incident reportedly took place on July 14 and has since sparked public outrage after a video related to the incident went viral on social media.
According to the complainant, Azizul Haque, a resident of Khoratola village, he had previously paid Tk 10,000 to the same official about six months ago to obtain a tax receipt for the same land.
When he recently sought a new receipt required for registering the sale of the property in the new fiscal year, the official allegedly demanded Tk 20,000. Azizul said he transferred the money to a bKash account provided by the tahsildar.
After the payment, he received a tax receipt showing that the actual land development tax amounted to only Tk 10.
Realising the discrepancy, Azizul demanded a refund of the excess amount. He alleged that the tahsildar and several associates then confined him inside the office, threatened him with legal action and forced him to record a video stating that he had not paid any additional money.
“I was forced to say on camera that I had not paid any extra money. I intend to take legal action against those responsible,” Azizul said.
After leaving the office, he informed local residents about the incident. An angry crowd later gathered outside the land office, prompting the official to return the Tk20,000, according to witnesses.
Local residents claimed this was not the first allegation of corruption against the official and accused him of routinely collecting illegal payments from service seekers. They demanded his immediate removal and exemplary punishment.
Repeated attempts to contact Liton Dewan for comment were unsuccessful, as he was not found at his office and did not answer phone calls.
Jajira Upazila Assistant Commissioner (Land) Md Mehedi Hasan said he had seen videos of the incident on Facebook and learned about the allegations from journalists.
“I have not yet received a written complaint from the victim. However, considering the public concern, I have summoned the concerned tahsildar. If an investigation proves the allegations, strict departmental and legal action will be taken against him,” he said.