A contractor has formally accused Nurul Islam, Member of Parliament for the Sunamganj-4 (Sadar-Bishwa-mharpur) constituency, and his supporting activists of demanding a staggering BDT 1 crore in extortion. The aggrieved contractor submitted a written complaint to Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed on Tuesday.
The complaint details allegations of police harassment, intimidation of family members, and obstruction of government development projects by the lawmaker and his loyalists.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday around 11:00 AM, MP Nurul Islam inspected ongoing road construction work accompanied by the Executive Engineer of the Roads and Highways Department (RHD) in Sunamganj, local journalists, and area residents. During the visit, he strongly demanded a thorough investigation into the allegations brought against him.
Nurul Islam, a former general secretary of the district BNP and current member of the convening committee, has categorically denied the extortion claims. Speaking to Chitra Post, he stated that the contractor is responsible for renovating a road and constructing a bridge within his constituency. According to the MP, locals had been complaining about various irregularities in the construction work from the very beginning.
He added that when he visited the area on Tuesday, residents reiterated their grievances. Consequently, he instructed the contractor's representatives that no irregularities would be tolerated. Upon returning to the town later, he learned that the contractor had filed a complaint against him.
"I stated clearly that no irregularities will be tolerated. Now, false allegations are being fabricated simply to cover up his own corruption and irregularities," said MP Nurul Islam.
The complainant has been identified as Md. Shafiqul Islam, a resident of Tahirpur upazila in Sunamganj and the proprietor of the contracting firm Islam Traders. He revealed that his firm has been entrusted with upgrading approach roads for four bridges, placing protective blocks, constructing guide walls, and building a new bridge along the Sunamganj-Bishwamharpur road. The Roads and Highways Department is executing these projects across two packages at a cost of approximately BDT 96 crore.
