Allegation Taking Extra Money at Sub-Registry Office.

Rajapur (Jhalakathi) Correspondent. Allegations have been raised of taking extra money beyond the government-fixed fees at the Rajapur Sub-Registry Office in Jhalakathi. To verify the allegation on the spot, Md. Rafiqul Islam Jamal, Member of Parliament Jhalakathi-1 (Rajapur-Kathalia) constituency, made a surprise visit to the Sub-Registry Office on Thursday afternoon. At around 3:30 PM, he went to the office with journalists, police, and party leaders and activists. There, the MP spoke with land buyer Md. Zakir Hossain. Zakir Hossain said that he bought a piece of land for 3 lakh taka. He paid 36,000 taka to deed writer Md. Alkaz Hossain for the registration of the deed. MP Rafiqul Islam Jamal said that taking 36,000 taka for a 3 lakh taka land is more than the government-fixed registration cost. The Sub-Registrar has been asked about this matter. However, deed writer Alkaz Hossain said, “I took 30,000 taka as deed expenses. The remaining 6,000 taka was spent by Zakir Hossain to collect receipts from outside.” Rajapur Sub-Registrar (part-time) Md. Mehedi Hasan said, “Deed writer Alkaz Hossain has been served a show-cause notice and asked to respond.” MP Rafiqul Islam Jamal said, “For a long time, I have been receiving complaints of extra money being taken at the Sub-Registry Office. Especially, such complaints were coming more from small land donors and recipients. So I came to the office to see the matter directly.” He further said, “Transparency must be ensured in the activities of the Sub-Registry Office. It must also be known how much money is being taken from the deed recipients in the name of writing the deed.” He also informed that if necessary, a team will be formed at the party level to monitor the matter. During the inspection, Upazila BNP Senior Vice President Abdul Haque Nantu, Upazila Jubo Dal Convener Md. Masum Billah Parvez, Member Secretary Syed Nazmul Haque, Swechchhasebak Dal Convener Babu Ratan Debnath, Member Secretary Md. Riaz Hossain Khan and other local leaders and activists were present.