In his village, he was known as a thief and mugger. Locals are aware that he was facing several cases, including one for murder, in Dhaka, but they did not know much about him since he did not visit his parents in his village.
On Wednesday, residents told Dhaka Tribune that they were astonished after learning that Rabiul Islam Apon alias Shohag alias Hridoy was a jewellery shop owner in the United Arab Emirates, and took a new name, Arav Khan.
Son of farmer Motiur Rahman Molla and Lucky Begum, Rabiul was born in Ashunia village of Gopalganj's Kotalipara Upazila.
But, as per his latest passport, he is an Indian national and his father's name is also different. However, on Facebook, he identifies himself as a Bangladeshi. He is regarded as a celebrity in the Bangladeshi community in the UAE and Bangladesh.
CollectedHis Facebook ID, which was created in April 2020, says he hails from Salt Lake City in Kolkata, but lives in Brooklyn, New York, and that he studied at King's College, University of London.
His profile, where he shares his luxurious life in Dubai, has over 411,000 followers. It says he is the owner of Apon Group of Industries and Times of Bangladesh and the owner and CEO at Arav Jewellers.
Event invitation uncovered the mystery
The jewellery shop was inaugurated on Wednesday in presence of some world-famous cricket stars and a handful of celebrities from Bangladesh.
Since February, several Bangladeshi newspapers and TV channels reported on the grand inauguration, where it was mentioned that the company logo, an eagle, was made using 60kgs of gold at a cost of over Tk45 crore. It is kept on the counter of the shop.
Bangladeshi law enforcers came to know about Rabiul, the sixth accused in the police murder case, on February 3 this year.
On that day, Arav Khan on his Facebook profile posted a video of national cricketer and model Shakib Al Hasan who invited all to join the inauguration of Arav Jewellers, a posh shop at Hind Plaza in New Gold Souk of Dubai.
CollectedArav Khan also posted videos of several cricket stars from England, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Afghanistan and UAE, who were supposedly invited to the event.
Ahead of the opening ceremony, it was learned from his Facebook that popular writer Sadat Hossain; film actor Ashraful Alam alias Hero Alam and Prarthona Fardin Dighi; anchor Debashish Bishwas; and singers Israt Jahan Jui, Arfeen Akash, Mainul Ahsan Nobel, Zahed Parvej Pabel, Belal Khan, and Rubel Khandokar, among others, were likely to join the grand event.
Facebook/Arav KhanPolice want him back
After his identity was exposed in the media on Wednesday, the day his new jewellery shop was inaugurated, law enforcers said they were taking all possible measures to bring him back and try him for the crimes he had committed in Bangladesh.
CollectedPolice will also seek the help of Interpol to get him back.
Rabiul was arrested by Dhaka police with illegal arms twice -- at Moghbazar in 2015 and at Gulshan in 2017 -- but walked out of jail after securing bail.
Later, he was part of a criminal gang that killed Special Branch inspector Md Mamun Emran Khan at a house in Banani area on July 7, 2018. This time, he evaded arrest successfully and went to Dubai via India.
In 2020, another person surrendered in court on his behalf after police filed the charge sheet in the case. But after serving nine months in jail, the proxy gave up and disclosed to police his real identity: Abu Yusuf Limon of Chandpur.
This is when the police realized that the master of disguise is out of their radar.
Fraudster flees country
After the murder, Rabiul sneaked into India and married a woman, Sajeema Nasrin, in Assam on February 23, 2020.
Before that, he changed his name to Arav Khan, and father's to Jakir Khan, and identified himself as a businessman, residing in the Kandarpopur area of Narendrapur in Kolkata, according to the marriage deed.
An Indian passport was issued in his new name on July 28, 2020, as he flew to Dubai, the most populous city and luxury tourist destination in the UAE.
In October 2021, he opened a company in Dubai together with his wife and a local resident named Hamda Ali Hatim Ali Albalooshir. On October 31, he acquired a resident identity card which expires on October 30 of next year, according to media reports.
Known as Apon in his village
This correspondent visited Ashunia village under Hiron Union of Kotalipara where he is known by his nickname Apon (his Facebook username is apon.moyna.9).
The semi-pucca house was found under lock and key. His parents and relatives were not seen around. His two sisters are married and live in Mollahat of Bagerhat, locals said.
Only a handful of villagers could recognize him, but they did not know about him much. They said Apon was known in the locality as a thief and mugger.
His father Motiur Rahman Molla used to earn a living by working in the field and catching fish, locals said. Even though Apon reportedly bought a flat in Burj Khalifa, he did not repair the village home.
Local Union Parishad Chairman Mazharul Alam Panna said he had learned about Apon from the media. “I was in the dark about him since he did not visit his parents. I only knew that he has several cases against him in Dhaka.
“Apon's parents used to live here, but I have heard that they also went to Dubai.”
Our Gopalganj Correspondent Monoj Kumar Saha contributed to this report.