Syed Abed Ali Jibon's life took a dramatic turn this week with his arrest, marking a sharp fall from grace for a man who led a life of luxury and opulence.
Before his scandalous downfall, Abed, formerly a chauffeur for the chairman of the Bangladesh Public Service Commission (BPSC), enjoyed a lifestyle that most people could only dream of.
The son of the late Abdur Rahman Mir from West Botla village, Baligram union, Dasar upazila, Madaripur, Abed’s humble beginnings as a driver seemed a distant memory.
However, his recent arrest on charges of involvement in a question leak scandal has not only shattered his image but also brought his meteoric rise under intense scrutiny.
Humble origins
According to locals, Abed is the second among Abdur Rahman Mir’s three sons and one daughter. His elder brother, Javed Ali, is a farmer, and his younger brother, Sabed Ali, earns his living driving an autorickshaw.
Abed Ali, however, would introduce himself to the locals as an industrialist, before his rise to infamy over his alleged involvement in question leaks and subsequent arrest.
Villagers told Dhaka Tribune that Abed left for Dhaka to earn a living when he was eight.
He initially worked as a porter and later learned to drive, securing a job with the BPSC.
PSC question leak: Hotel owner denies ties to former PSC driver Abed AliFor the past two years, he had been visiting his hometown regularly, aspiring to become chairman of the newly formed Dasar upazila parishad.
Though the election schedule has yet to be announced, he had been campaigning for the position for a long time, riding luxury cars while campaigning.
People from his village say that after becoming wealthy, he dropped his Mir family name and started identifying himself as a Syed. Consequently, everyone began calling him Syed Abed Ali.
Rolling in money
Abed built a luxurious duplex house in his village, spending around Tk6 crore, along with a mosque beside it, according to multiple sources.
He also started a cattle farm and a shopping centre in Madaripur, allegedly using some government land.
Abed led a lavish lifestyle with his family, owning multiple properties and flats in various locations, including Dhaka. He has a house in Khanzapur, Gournadi. He also claimed to have invested in a luxurious hotel, Hotel Sun Marina in Kuakata, although its owner has denied any ties to Abed or having ever met him.
Additionally, Abed’s family members use several expensive cars. He has properties worth several crores of taka under both his name and those of others. His wife, Shilpi Begum, owns apartments and land in different areas, including Dhaka city’s Dhanmondi, Mohammadpur and Mugda as well as Manikganj, Chittagong and Bagerhat.
People are now curious about him since a driver owning so much wealth is unusual.
Locals were unaware that Abed was once a chauffeur for the BPSC chairman.
He gained notoriety for distributing beef to around 100 people in a luxury car during Eid-ul-Azha, which he posted on Facebook.
His son, Syed Sohanur Rahman Siam, uses multiple expensive cars and has studied in Shillong, India, and at a private university in Bangladesh. Before his arrest this week, Siam was relief and disaster management secretary of the Chhatra League’s Dhaka north unit. However, he is still vice president of the Dasar upazila unit of the ruling party’s student wing.
Besides, Abed’s daughter attends a reputed English-medium school.
Meanwhile, Atiqur Rahman, deputy director at the Madaripur office of the Anti-Corruption Commission, said no one had filed a complaint against Abed yet. “If we receive a complaint, we will contact the ACC head office to launch an investigation."
Generous to others, neglectful to brothers
Abdur Rahman and Joygun Nesa from West Botla village had four children. About 30 years ago, Abdur Rahman's family was struggling with extreme poverty. Amid these hardships, Abed Ali was a second-grader when Abdur Rahman passed away.
Seeking a livelihood, Abed moved to Dhaka, where he would later get a job as a driver at the BPSC through a person named Shahin from Shahjadpur, Sirajganj.
This job turned Abed Ali's fortunes around as if he had found Aladdin's magic lamp.
Within a year of getting the job, he married Shilpi Begum, daughter of Habibur Rahman Khan from Madaripur.
However, after his marriage, Abed Ali fell out with his two brothers, Javed Ali and Sabed Ali, and his sister Moharjan over family matters and severed ties with them.
He worked as the chairman's driver at the BPSC until 2014, amassing crores through corruption before his sacking due to involvement in question paper leaks. Subsequently, he ventured into various businesses, accumulating wealth and living a luxurious lifestyle.
Despite his wealth, his two brothers still live in decrepit tin-roofed houses, earning their livelihood through farming and driving an autorickshaw.
While Abed donated lakhs in Dasar to support his bid for chairmanship, he took no initiative to alleviate his brothers' poverty.
And even though he organized large rallies throughout the upazila, his brothers were not in attendance.
Campaigning
The exact date for the election remains uncertain due to complications with voter registration and boundary issues. Nonetheless, Abed Ali launched his campaign for chairmanship immediately after Dasar was declared an upazila.
He donated lakhs to local mosques, temples, orphanages and various social institutions, earning recognition for himself.
He was known to pray regularly and has often donated large sums after prayers at different mosques in Dasar.
Most recently, he donated Tk17,000 to a mosque in Dhuyasar last Friday.
He would also donate cash and new clothes to the poor during festivals like Eid and Puja, which boosted his popularity as a chairman candidate.
However, when Abed’s name became associated with a question leak scandal, the locals learned that he was actually a driver by profession. His arrest on charges of involvement in the question leak scandal caused a stir among the residents of Dasar.
Public perception
Mujibur Rahman Khan, chairman of Baligram union parishad, said although Abed Ali was a driver, he would introduce himself in the community as a businessman.
“He used to ride cars worth Tk2 crore, and his son also used expensive cars. As a chairman candidate, he made significant donations to local mosques, temples and various institutions.
“However, Abed Ali did not campaign for any political party. It was only when his name was linked to the question leak scandal that the locals realized he was actually a driver.”
