Staff  Correspondent 

There is no end to the allegations against sub-registrars; the position of sub-registrar is like Aladdin’s lamp. Many sub-registrars have become owners of hundreds of crores from nothing. They have amassed massive illegal wealth through bribery and corruption, evading government revenue.

Recently, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed cases against 18 sub-registrars after preparing a list based on allegations of corruption. One such allegation reported in the media claims that Pradeep Kumar Biswas, sub-registrar of the Pallabi division under Dhaka Sub-Registry Office, evaded government revenue and acquired assets worth crores of taka using bribe money, buying properties in the names of relatives.

The allegation mentions that Pradeep Kumar Biswas purchased properties worth crores in various mouzas of Tungipara upazila in the names of his mother Shanti Lata Biswas, wife Lipi Biswas, elder sister Rikta Biswas, middle sister Geeta Biswas, younger sister Nandi Biswas, brother-in-law Joy, father-in-law and mother-in-law, and other relatives.

To evade the eyes of the law, he bought massive amounts of property in the names of family members and relatives. These include  purchasing of  property worth crores in the name of his wife Lipi Biswas at Ghonapara bus stand in Tungipara upazila ;  November 19, 2023, he bought 269 decimals of land in Bhairab Nagar mouza from Health Assistant Roy Mondal Biplob and his sister in the name of his maternal uncle Khir Mohan Mondal (deed number 2803).  He purchased about 100 decimals of land in Chingguri mouza from Roy Mondal’s father Ramani Ranjan Mondal in the name of his middle sister, schoolteacher Geeta Biswas, on August 30, 2016 (deed number 1536) 

On June 7, 2016, he purchased 100 decimals of land from Chittaranjan Mondal in Chingguri mouza in the name of his middle sister Geeta Biswas (deed number 978). 

He  bought 5 decimals of land in front of his house from Subrata Mistry in the name of his sister Geeta Biswas and built a permanent concrete temple there (deed number 1591, completed on September 6, 2028).

On June 18, 2019, he bought 15 decimals of land in Chingguri mouza from Amulya Kumar Chowdhury in the name of his mother Shanti Lata Biswas (deed number 1091).

On  January 28, 2020, he purchased 52 decimals of land in Chingguri mouza from Khiroda Chowdhury in the name of his mother Shanti Lata Biswas (deed number 242). 

He  bought 30 decimals of land for house construction from goldsmith Uttam Sarkar.H

He purchased 20 decimals of land from Santosh Mondal and Chitta Mondal in his own name for house construction.

In addition, he has bought several properties in the names of relatives and family members.

Pradeep Kumar's father, Prafulla Kumar Biswas, was a freedom fighter and assistant teacher at Dumuria Secondary School, known as a very honest and good man. In his father’s name, Pradeep has constructed and renovated around 20 to 25 temples and built various ashrams in his own and nearby upazilas using illicit funds.

List of temples built in his father’s name: Chingguri West Para Sarbojanin Kali Temple, Chingguri Mid-Para Sarbojanin Durga Temple, Cali Temple in front of his own house, snother temple inside his duplex house, ashram at his maternal uncle’s house in Dumuria village, Sa- rbojanin Durga Temple in Dumuria Bazar, Aagla’s Temple in Babupura village, Sarbojanin Durga Temple in Bhairab Nagar village,Sarbojanin Durga Temple in Lebutala village. renovated a temple at social leader Golok Mondal’s house in Bhandarkhola village of Mollarhat police station at the cost of several lakh taka and built a temple at the house of his friend, Agriculture Officer Deepak, in Rampal police station

Besides,  he has built and financed many temples and ashrams in his own and surrounding upazilas without disclosing their names, using funds entirely from bribes and corruption while evading government revenue, becoming a massive philanthropist with illegal money.

He also purchased an expensive Boxi Noah car in the name of his younger brother Swapan Biswas, registration number Dhaka Metro Ga-424998.

It is suspected that he has purchased two more vehicles in the names of other family members and laundered a massive amount of money abroad, including buying a house and other properties in Thakurnagar village of India’s 24 Parganas district. In his leisure, he travels by plane with family members for vacations.

There are also allegations of large sums of cash being stored in different banks under the names of his wife, mother, sisters, brother-in-law, and in-laws.

On October 24, 2024, a complaint was submitted to the Chairman of the Anti-Corruption Commission. In January 2025, news of his corruption involving Tk 92 lakh in revenue evasion and Tk 30 lakh in bribe transactions was published in several top national newspapers. Consequently, he was transferred from the Pallabi division of Dhaka Sub-Registry Office to Char Rajibpur upazila of Kurigram district as a sub-registrar.

When asked about the allegations, a senior ACC official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that if an application is made under the Right to Information Act, they could provide information on whether the complaint is still active or has been dismissed. However, any news published in the media is taken seriously and investigated accordingly.

When contacted, Sub-Registrar Pradeep told The Country Today that  the allegations against him are false, fake, and baseless. He stated that apart from 16 decimals of land for his house, he has not purchased any other property. He said that his father left behind a lot of property and that after 18 years of service, he and his siblings built a house in the village, questioning whether that is not allowed. He further stated that some individuals are spreading such false and baseless information to socially defame him.