Shahzreh makes bombshell allegation against sister Transcom CEO Simeen: Brother was murdered

Shahzreh Huq, daughter of the late chairman of Transcom Group, on Friday (22 March) filed a murder case against her elder sister Transcom Group CEO Simeen Rahman on the charge of killing their brother Arshad Waliur Rahman on Friday.

This is what Shahzreh said in the case statement:

Following the death of their father, former CEO of Transcom Group Latifur Rahman, Simeen Rahman and her son Zaraif Ayaat Hossain, also Transcom Limited's head of transformation, allegedly began to conspire on how to grab all the wealth that was to be distributed among all the heirs. 

Shahzreh alleged that a lot of documents were forged to ensure that she and her brother Arshad Waliur Rahman, who was a divorcee with no children, did not get a share of the wealth.

"My brother and I decided to take legal action against them for this. On 8 June 2023, Arshad gave me the power of attorney," she said. 

The power of attorney gave Shahzreh legal authorisation to act on behalf of an individual referred to as the principal.

"Simeen got angry at my brother for giving me the power of attorney. During this time, he expressed a fear for his life to our close relatives," Shahzreh said.

Just around 11:15am eight days later on 16 June, Shahzreh received a call from a former domestic worker, Moslem Howladar, who was employed under her father. 

He told her that her brother, Arshad, had died.

"Within 10 minutes, I rushed to his home to find him dead in his bedroom," Shahzreh said. 

She said all the 11 accused were present in his house at the time, but she claimed no one had informed her of the death.

"My brother was not suffering from any chronic diseases. I had tried contacting him for the past four days, but I could not," she said. 

Shahzreh recalled seeing an ambulance parked outside her brother's rented Gulshan residence where he lived alone.

Once at the house, Shahzren saw Manager (Medical Affairs) of Eskayef Pharmaceuticals Dr Murad Hossain, 50, and Marketing and Sales Department Executive Director Dr Md Mujahidul Islam, 55, being spoken to by Simeen. 

"Simeen was instructing them to get the death certificate as soon as possible," she claimed.

"The remaining others were also asked to complete the burial within the afternoon."

According to Shahzreh, the body was then taken to the hospital by Dr Murad by which time a number of unidentified Eskayef Pharmaceuticals employees were present.

"The on-duty doctor then said Arshad had been dead for a while. He asked why there was this much of a delay in bringing the dead body," she said.

The on-duty doctor also asked about Arshad's physical condition, whether he had any chronic diseases and how he died. 

"In reply, Dr Murad claimed to be Arshad's family doctor and he had all the information. He urged that a police report was not necessary."

Shahzreh said after all the procedures at the hospital, Dr Murad and other Eskayef officials wanted to take the body from the hospital authorities, but were told it could not be released without a signature from a relative. 

"My husband Arshad Haque signed the release form," Shahzreh said. 

She claimed that Dr Murad, under the instruction of Simeen, took the death certificate and other medical documents from the hospital to give to Simeen through Dr Mujahidul.

Being suspicious about the lack of a post mortem or toxicology report, her husband, Haque, took a photo of the death certificate with his phone.

"He said the reason of death was stated as 'unknown'," Shahzreh said.

Haque has shown the photo of the death certificate to their other relatives, Shahzreh said in her statement. 

Shahzren said the namaz-e-janaza was held in a rush at the Banani graveyard. 

"Even though there were four empty burial spots at the family graveyard, Waliur was laid to rest in the same grave as their younger sister Shazneen."

Shazneen Tasnim Rahman was raped and murdered in her home in Gulshan, Dhaka on 23 April 1998. She was stabbed 20 times. 

Her body was discovered by domestic worker Moslem Hawlader, the same person who allegedly called Shahzreh to inform her of her brother's passing.

In the case statement, Shahzreh said, "Simeen made all the decisions on her own that day, including how the burial would take place and when."

Shahzreh, in the statement, reiterated that her brother was not sick and there was no evidence of anything wrong with his health. He had not discussed the matter of any illness with any relatives either.

On this note, Shahzreh mentioned that one of Arshad's close friends, Latifur Rahman Khan Ruskin, asked Simeen that day about the lack of a post mortem and toxicology report. 

"He also asked Simeen why Arshad's driver [Mirazul] and chef [Rafiq] were not questioned by police over the death," Shahzreh said. 

Simeen, allegedly, evaded the questions. 

Both Mirazul and Rafiq have been named as accused in the murder case. 

"All of the accused planned the murder through either strangulation or poisoning that day," Shahzreh alleged citing their demeanour. 

She further claimed that since Arshad's death, all his property, including his car, home and other assets were usurped by those accused in the case at Simeen's directive. 

"Mirazul and Rafiq are still employed by Transcom Limited as decided by Simeen," Shahzreh said.