Noakhali Correspondent

ASM Shamsuddin Ahmed, the forest officer of Begumganj Upazila of Noakhali. He has been working in his district for 37 years.

As the Upazila Forest Officer, he has bought land and plots worth crores of taka, erected buildings, and occupied government canals. To cover up his various misdeeds, he has placed local political leaders, journalists, and businessmen, including well-off people from the society, in the social forestry committee.

He also does not agree with the distribution of money to the beneficiaries of forestry. He himself employs his mentally disabled brother as a boatman in the Upazila Forest Office and collects his salary. Apart from this, there are also allegations against him of forcibly registering the land of the minority community in his area. Shamsuddin's ancestral home is in Kalikapur Bazar area of Sonaimuri Upazila of Noakhali. Everyone in the area knows him as 'Ban Shamsukh'.

He has been working as a forest officer in various Upazilas of Noakhali since 1990. Currently, he is the acting forest officer of Begumganj Upazila as well as the forest officer of Sonaimuri and Senbagh. In his long career, he has served as the forest officer of Sonaimuri, Senbagh, and Begumganj Upazila. Although government officials usually do not have the opportunity to work in their own districts, it seems that the rules are different in the case of Shamsuddin.

The investigation revealed that the monthly salary of an upazila forest officer is 30 thousand taka. Including other allowances, it stands at a maximum of 37 thousand. With this salary, Shamsuddin bought 22 decims of land in his area Kalikapur. He bought about 30 decims of land next to the road adjacent to the Bagadia-Kalikapur market, whose current value is several crores of taka. From the recent intersection to Chandraganj road.

Shamsuddin has bought 22 decims of land in his area Kalikapur. He has bought about 30 decims of land on the side of the road adjacent to the Bagadia-Kalikapur market, which is currently worth several crores of taka. He has been accused of embezzling money by selling afforested trees on the side of the Chandraganj road from the recent intersection. He has been accused of selling trees in the market without distributing the seedlings and selling tender saplings of various forestry projects and enjoying the benefits anonymously.

He embezzled money by selling afforestation trees without a tender in the Atia Paul area of Begumganj, and embezzled cash from each sawmill ranging from 5,000 taka per month to 50,000 taka per mill per year and built a 1,280 square foot apartment in Subast Nazar Valley on Elephant Road in the capital Dhaka. He has built a luxurious flat in Famous View Apan Nibas-2 in Alipur, Begumganj. Regarding the allegations.

A mobile phone call to Begumganj Upazila Forest Officer ASM Shamsuddin Ahmed said that one day he came to the office and was invited for tea and breakfast.

Molla Mohammad Mizanur Rahman, Divisional Forest Officer of Noakhali Coastal Forest Division

He admitted to irregularities, corruption and collecting salaries without going to the office and said, "We have received complaints in this regard and have forwarded them to the concerned department."