When Shahriar Alam was first elected as a member of parliament, the ordinary people of his constituency came to know him as a “gentle young man.” Word spread that the constituency had got a polite and decent member of parliament (MP). But over time, that clean image of Shahriar Alam began to fade. His use of political intrigue, manipulation, and vengeful tactics to establish dominance on the political stage devoured his “gentleman” reputation. In the last few years, many in Bagha–Charghat now describe him as a powerful “political schemer,” “arrogant,” and “ruthless.”
After he became a state minister, Shahriar Alam’s popularity in his constituency began to decline sharply. Allegations of corruption, embezzlement, unethical politics, and cruel repression of political opponents became frequent. The complaints came not only from activists of BNP and Jamaat, but also from many leaders and workers within his own party, the Awami League. Locals say that Shahriar Alam lost not only his “gentleman” label in politics, but also his respect in personal and family life. After divorcing his first wife and starting a new family with another woman, he faced harsh criticism across the area.
From the very beginning, Shahriar Alam never allowed any alternative leadership to emerge in his constituency. Once he became an MP, senior Awami League figures began to be sidelined. He did everything necessary to ensure that former MP Rahenul Haque of Charghat–Bagha and his followers could not regain influence. In the area, his word became law; anyone who opposed him faced various forms of harassment. Locals say Shahriar Alam was originally unknown to most people in the constituency – he did not even live there. He came only to run for election, and people initially accepted him as a “gentleman.” But his actions over the past 15 years have stripped away all respect, even among his own party workers, who now see him in a negative light.
Abu Sayeed Chand, convener of the Rajshahi District BNP unit, has alleged that he and his party colleagues suffered years of persecution under Shahriar Alam’s directives. Numerous cases were filed against Chand and other BNP–Jamaat activists. For most of the past 15 years, BNP was unable to hold public programmes in Bagha and Charghat. During this period, Abu Sayeed spent nearly seven years in prison, facing around 80 lawsuits.
Shahriar Alam also maintained his grip on power by dividing the Awami League in Bagha–Charghat. Former MP Rahenul Haque, former Bagha Upazila Chairman Layeb Uddin Lablu, former Bagha Municipality Mayor Akkas Ali, and former Union Parishad Chairman Meraj Uddin all faced harassment under his influence. Some of them even spent long periods in jail as victims of political vendettas.
Shahriar Alam had no prior position in the Awami League or its associate organisations in Rajshahi. After being elected MP in 2008, he became a district Awami League member, and in 2014, he was appointed President of the Bagha Upazila Awami League. Since then, he began inserting his own loyalists into all levels of party committees. He also built his own faction within the district Awami League, even drawing several MPs into his circle, which led to deep organisational division. As a result, the Rajshahi District Awami League has remained largely inactive for years.
Bagha Municipality Mayor Akkas Ali was among those persecuted by Shahriar Alam. In 2012, he was jailed following cases filed by Shahriar’s associates. Multiple cases are still pending against him. Akkas Ali was a district Awami League member. In a violent clash on 22 June between two local Awami League factions over extortion within the Deed Writers’ Association at Bagha Sub-Registry Office, Ashraful Islam, president of the Bagha Upazila Awami League, was killed. Following the incident, Shahinur Rahman, joint secretary of Bagha Upazila Jubo League and a supporter of Shahriar Alam, filed a case against Merajul Islam, organising secretary of the District Jubo League, and 45 others. Meraj was later arrested and sent to jail.
Locals also claim that Shahriar Alam bought land worth crores of taka at nominal prices in Charghat, using promises of establishing garment factories and other lucrative ventures as bait. In Meramatpur, along the Charghat–Bagha highway, the Lily Cinema Hall was shut down in 2010. The owners wanted to sell the building and land. A Dhaka-based film production company intended to buy and modernise it. But in 2014, after Shahriar Alam became state minister, he announced plans to buy the site to set up a factory there. Though there were buyers willing to pay crores, he convinced some of the shareholders of the hall to sell the 37-decimal plot to him, and pressured the rest to agree. Ultimately, he bought the entire 33-decimal property, including the hall building, for only Tk50 lakh. Ten years later, no factory has been built there.
In 2022, Shahriar Alam purchased a 33 decimal plot at the east of the Upazila Land Office in Charghat Sadar from a man named Bishwanath. Further information suggests that he also purchased several other plots – directly and under proxy names – in Bagha, Lalpur, and Ishwardi. He married the daughter of a Lalpur upazila Awami League leader from Natore as his second wife, divorcing his first wife afterwards. In 2021, using his ministerial influence, he helped appoint his second wife’s mother as mayor. He also built a lavish house for his second wife in Lalpur, reportedly spending several crores.
In 2020, Shahriar Alam bought 40 bighas of land in Basantapur Mor, Gogram Union, Godagari Upazila, Rajshahi, from Golam Mostafa, owner of Bagha Petrol Pump. Mostafa has alleged that Shahriar Alam took possession of the land through fraud, without paying the full amount. Earlier, in 2010, he had purchased 25 bighas in Chowdhuryhat, Thakurgaon Sadar, and in 2017, 13 bighas in Kaliganj, Lalmonirhat, where he built a farmhouse.
Locals allege that since becoming an MP in 2008, Shahriar Alam has built his wealth through extensive embezzlement and plundering in his constituency. Through his associates, he controlled all government funds and projects, including TR-Kabikha allocations. He also conducted bribery in teacher recruitment for schools, colleges, and madrasas, and collected large sums for jobs, transfers, and approvals. Without paying into the minister’s fund, no one could access TR-Kabikha or any government grant.
It is further alleged that Shahriar Alam facilitated extortion within the Deed Writers’ Association at the Bagha Sub-Registry Office. For years, he arranged “pocket committees” that collected at least Tk50 lakh per month in extortion. Reports claim he received a share of that money. When a rival Awami League faction opposed this corrupt committee, a violent clash broke out in June, leading to the death of party leader Ashraful Islam.
Since the fall of the Awami League government on 5 August, Shahriar Alam has been on the run. His three-storey house in Arani Municipality, Bagha, now stands in eerie silence.
Bd-pratidin English/ ANI
