Police arrest top rice trader Rashid in cheque fraud case
Despite having arrest warrants in many of the 110 cases against him, Rashid remained untouchable during the AL regime due to his close relationship with the former food minister, say police
Police have arrested Abdur Rashid, president of the Rice Mill Owners Association and the head of Rashid Agro Food, in a fraud case.
He was arrested from Kushtia's Majampur area at around 5pm on Saturday in a cheque fraud case filed by agri entrepreneur Atiqur Rahman, Kushtia Model police station Officer-in-Charge Shihabur Rahman told The Business Standard.
"Abdur Rashid was a wanted criminal. He and his family members have been in hiding. He was arrested based on a tip-off and was taken to court the night of the arrest," he said.
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Police said Rashid owns an oil factory named Rashid Oil Mills Ltd in Pabna's Ishwardi. Atiqur, the owner of Inam Feed Mill located in Rajshahi's Puthia, had paid Rashid an advance of Tk1,33,64,867 via cheque to purchase raw materials for the feed mill.
After taking the money, Rashid held the goods and money for one and a half years without delivering anything.
On 13 August 2023, Atiqur filed the case against Rashid and his manager Mehedi Hasan at the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court of Rajshahi. An arrest warrant was issued later against Rashid as he did not appear in court following summons.
Plaintiff Atiqur told The Business Standard, "I am a small entrepreneur. I had paid Rashid in advance for the raw materials for my feed mill. After taking the money, he started making various excuses. Even after one and a half years, I received neither the money nor the goods."
"I have been paying the interest on my bank loan regularly. Small businessmen like us are forced onto the streets due to people like Rashid, who are shattering the dreams of young entrepreneurs," he added.
Atiqur said the first warrant against Rashid was issued on 25 March 2024, but he managed to evade arrest by leveraging his relationship with the former Kushtia-3 lawmaker and senior Awami League leader Mahbubul Alam Hanif and manipulating the police.
A second warrant was issued on 18 September 2024, and he was finally arrested on Saturday.
Atiqur mentioned that the arrest was possible due to the change in the country's political scenario.
Police said there are at least 110 cases against Abdur Rashid across the country. Despite having warrants against him in many of the cases, Rashid remained untouchable during the Awami League regime due to his close relationship with the former food minister Sadhan Chandra Majumdar.
