Kamalnagar (Lakshmipur) Correspondent

‎Nikah Registrar Abdur Rahman has been accused of registering 4,000 marriages and more than a thousand divorces, including child marriages and polygamy, in Kamalnagar, Lakshmipur for a decade, ignoring the court's stay order. Multiple sources have confirmed that this Qazi, who was appointed illegally, has embezzled crores of taka from the people and evaded government revenue.

‎ It is learned that Abdur Rahman was appointed as the temporary Nikah Registrar of Char Kadira Union of Kamalnagar under the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs on November 10, 2013, by concealing information. At that time, the then Law Minister Kamrul Islam appointed many people for more than one million taka per person without any verification and screening.

The Nikah Registrar Recruitment Rules clearly state that a Nikah Registrar candidate must be a permanent resident of the vacant jurisdiction to get the appointment. But the controversial Abdur Rahman, despite being a permanent resident of another union, gave completely false information and got appointed as a marriage registrar in Char Kadira Union. Which is a misconduct, dismissable and punishable offense according to Rule 11 of the Marriage Registrar Rules 2009.

‎It was found out that Abdur Rahman's permanent residence is in Ward No. 2 of Hazir Hat Union in Kamalnagar. At that time, he became a voter there due to his studies in Noakhali district. After being appointed on November 10, 2013, Abdur Rahman purchased some land in Char Kadira Union on November 20 of that year.

‎ Since he was not a resident of Char Kadira, the then Chairman of Char Kadira Union Parishad, Ashraf Uddin Rajan, filed a written complaint with the appointing authority, the Secretary of the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, on November 16 of that year, and the Lakshmipur District Registrar on December 11. In addition, the chairman of that union, Ashraf Uddin Rajan, certified that Abdur Rahman was not a resident of Char Kadira Union, and the chairman of Hazir Hat Union, Abul Bashet Helal, publicly released the certificate and birth registration stating that the accused Abdur Rahman was a permanent resident of Hazir Hat Union.

Meanwhile, a person named Mosleh Uddin, a resident of Char Kadira Union, filed a writ petition in the High Court Division at that time, seeking the cancellation of the appointment order of Abdur Rahman, who was appointed by concealing the information, and the High Court issued a stay order on his appointment order on May 18, 2014. By concealing and disobeying the said stay order, Abdur Rahman has been 'managing' the district and upazila divisional offices for a decade, registering thousands of marriages and divorces, and embezzling crores of taka from the people. Multiple sources have confirmed that in 12 years, Nikah Registrar Abdur Rahman has been registering 3,600 marriages and 1,000 divorces, using about 36 balams.

Despite the suspension order of 12 years, he took additional responsibility in the vacant jurisdiction of Hazir Hat Union of the upazila on June 29 this year, leaving the district registrar's office dormant.

After the retirement of Belal, the regular Nikah Registrar of that union, Abdul Latif, the senior qazi of Lorench Union of the upazila, was given additional responsibility. But 'mysteriously', the then District Registrar Sabikun Nahar managed to cancel the order of additional responsibility of Abdul Latif on the working day before his (district registrar's) retirement and gave additional responsibility to Abdur Rahman.

In this regard, the accused Nikah Registrar Abdur Rahman said that he was not aware of his suspension order, but he said that he was discharged from the case on August 19 this year. When asked about the appointment of Nikah Registrar in Charkadira Union, he avoided answering the question directly.

In this regard, Lakshmipur District Registrar Salah Uddin said, "I have received a complaint about accused Abdur Rahman operating the Nikah Registry by hiding the suspension order. Legal action will be taken soon after investigating the concealment of information during his appointment and various irregularities."