Recently, after the district administration sealed the donation boxes and opened them under CCTV surveillance, more than Tk 64 lakh in cash, currencies from 12 countries, gold ornaments, and 65 goats were found in 25 days. Following the disclosure of this information, a new discussion has begun regarding the shrine's donation management.
Sylhet Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner Saiful Islam said that for a long time, there was no system for maintaining specific accounts of donation money at the shrine. The donation boxes were recently sealed to ensure transparency.
It is learned that at this nearly 700-year-old shrine, the donation boxes were not under any institutional supervision for a long time. In this situation, after various allegations arose regarding the management of donation money, the district administration sealed three decks and four donation boxes of the shrine on June 18.
When the donation boxes were opened under CCTV surveillance for the first time on June 22, Tk 17,65,549 was found collected over four days. Later, in the second phase of counting on July 11, another Tk 47,10,153 was found. Additionally, currencies from various countries, gold ornaments, letters, and 65 votive goats were recovered.
Several locals and devotees allege that money is taken hand-to-hand outside the donation boxes to show a lower amount of donations. There are also allegations that the sale of votive animals, embezzlement of personal gifts, and various irregularities in donation management have been ongoing for a long time.
Former District Commissioner Sarwar Alam claims that a significant amount of money is collected hand-to-hand before it is deposited in the donation boxes. As a result, a large portion of the actual donations remains off the books.
In an investigation by Jugantor, further allegations have been made that a powerful syndicate has formed around the shrine's property, donation boxes, personal gifts, votive animals, and other sources of income. At the same time, allegations have been raised about the involvement of the organized gang in activities such as pickpocketing, snatching, shoe theft, and forced collection of money.
However, the shrine's Mutawalli (custodian), Fateh Ullah Al Aman, has denied these allegations. He said that the shrine's problems should have been resolved through discussion. He added that guards are regularly performing their duties to maintain order at the shrine and are trying to prevent pickpockets and fraudsters.
Meanwhile, the newly appointed District Commissioner of Sylhet, Abdullah Al Mamun, said that an investigation committee has already been formed to look into the allegations of irregularities and corruption at the shrine. The committee has been asked to submit a report within one month. Necessary action will be taken after receiving the report.
On the other hand, Subel Ahmed, Deputy Director of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Sylhet District Coordinated Office, said that formal investigation into the allegations will begin once the commission's approval is obtained.
