Metropolitan Magistrate Wahidul Islam Khan yesterday heard a petition regarding the matter and ordered the officer-in-charge of Bandar Police Station to record the petition as an FIR (first information report) after initiating a probe into the incident.

C&F agent Mahamudul Haq filed the case against Principal Appraiser (export-1) Mofizur Rahman of Chittagong Customs House, his wife and two sons with the Court of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM),

Chittagong.

The customs official and his family members took Tk 18 lakh from him in 'Baina' (security money)" against a piece of land measuring 48 ganda (96 decimals) under Dakkhin (south) Halishahar Mouza of Bandar Police Station on June 28, 1999, according to the case.

But Mofizur did not hand over the land registration papers to Mahamudul on various excuses. Mofizur and the three meanwhile sold out and handed over the same piece of land to other people, the case alleged.

Mahamudul eventually got Tk 9 lakh, half the amount through local arbitration. He also alleged in the petition that Mofizur gave him three bank cheques worth Tk 4.5 lakh on different occasions, which bounced.

The C&F agent then served a legal notice on the customs official and the three on July 13, 2004. But the accused continued to threaten the C&F agent, prompting him to sue them.

The panel lawyers of Bangladesh Society for the Enforcement of Human Rights, Chittagong branch, appeared for the plaintiff.