Sheikh clan’s lust for duty-free cars

With an almost decimated opposition and farcical elections, a party nomination from the ruling Awami League was as good as a seat in the parliament.
As such, MP nominations necessitated furnishing hefty sums and lavish gifts. For MP aspirants from the southern districts, it was an unwritten rule that one of the gifts would be the duty-free car that the MPs are allowed to import for personal use.
Those cars would end up in the garages of party royals, who happen to be members of deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s extended family.
This circle of predatory royals comprised five brothers: Sheikh Helal Uddin (Sheikh Helal), Sheikh Salah Uddin (Sheikh Jewel), Sheikh Sohel Uddin (Sheikh Sohel), Sheikh Jalal Uddin (Sheikh Rubel) and Sheikh Belal Uddin (Sheikh Babu).
Of them, Sheikh Jewel was the MP of Khulna-2 and Sheikh Helal of Bagerhat-1.
Sheikh Sharhan Naser Tonmoy (Sheikh Tonmoy), the son of Sheikh Helal, was added to this close circle after being elected MP from a Bagerhat constituency in 2018.
In practice, the five brothers did not have much sway over the party decisions.
What they had was the identity that they were Hasina’s paternal cousins bearing the weighty Sheikh name — enough for them to lord over the southwestern parts of the country, especially Jashore, Khulna, Bagerhat, Satkhira and Jhenaidah.
They were key to securing party tickets and hence used this influence to extract as many favours as possible from MP hopefuls, including the benefits afforded to MPs.
Besides, the locals had a strong belief that the royal family had a specific quota at their disposal and wielded significant influence when it came to recruitment to government jobs, transfer and tenders of development works of those districts, The Daily Star has learnt from local AL leaders.
This trend developed over a decade as every AL nomination seeker for three to four districts of the southwestern parts was under the impression that without satisfying that ‘royal family’ party nomination is next to impossible for them, they said.
For some nomination seekers who were not prominent themselves, showering the royals with gifts was the custom and handing over the duty-free car was the unspoken rule.
Some of the MPs did not even see their brand-new sports utility vehicles but had to pay for registration, fitness certificates and taxes.
“I just signed the form. I never even saw my car. But I paid all the taxes for the years,” a former MP of a Khulna constituency told The Daily Star wishing anonymity as they have not abandoned the hopes of becoming a lawmaker someday.
He does not know where the vehicle is at present and if it is still intact.
“I don’t know whether it has been burned in the tumult since August 5. Now, I am really not sure if I should even pay the taxes for the SUV,” he added.
But with the royals hiding safely in India and away from public outrage, one hapless MP is at a loss over what to do with the taxes and payments since they don’t even know whether those cars are still running in the first place.
His predecessor from the same constituency, who was an MP from 2014–2018, was luckier.
He had used his duty-free SUV for just a day before he had to hand it over to the royal and sign a post-dated deed of sale as MPs are allowed to sell their vehicles within five years of import, according to local sources.
It was almost the same for another MP of the 2018–2024 government from an adjacent district.
The former lawmaker, who had previously held a top position in AL’s student wing, had pledged to give his duty-free SUV but could not get enough time to import a car and duly wet the royal beaks.
According to parliament members, the extended Sheikh clan typically started communications with the potential MP aspirants from Jashore, Khulna, Bagerhat, Satkhira and Jhenaidah well before the elections.
Aspirants also sought the support of the royals to lock in the nomination.
The former MPs said the royal family members were powerful and it was not difficult for them to find who Hasina had picked for each constituency.
In reality, the royals had little influence within the party but pretended to have substantial sway in the decision-making process about the nominations.
But they would pounce on the chosen MPs for gifts that included their duty-free cars as soon as Hasina, also the AL president, had made her decision.
Sometimes, there were miscalculations.
For instance, before the January election, one royal communicated with the wrong aspirant since their names were rather similar.
One was Sheikh Rashedul Islam and the other was Rashiduzzaman Morol for Khulna 6 constituency.
“They had mistaken one name for another,” two AL leaders of that district told the Daily Star while recounting the anecdote.
One of the Sheikh family members had settled with Rashedul Islam as his possibility was higher than Rashiduzzaman, according to sources.
But Hasina gave her nod to Rashiduzzaman, which was revealed on November 26.
This left Rashedul in a spot of mortification as he was sure of his candidacy given the lavish gifts he furnished to the royal.
The royal though quickly swooped in on the AL nominee and claimed his token ‘gift’.
The winning MP duly obliged and made his commitment to satisfy the royal family much before the election, according to a close associate of the immediate past MP.
The former MP, however, could not get enough time to import his vehicle.
The Daily Star could not reach the royals for comment.