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Published : 09 Apr 2025, 12:33 AM
A day after the arrest of former International Crimes Tribunal prosecutor Tureen Afroz, tensions have escalated at her family home in Dhaka’s Uttara, where her stepbrother Shishir Ahmed Shahnewaz allegedly attempted to seize the property.
On Tuesday, around 11:30am, Shishir arrived at the six-storey house in Uttara’s Sector 3 claiming ownership and reportedly attempting to evict its current occupants, according to Tureen’s 17-year-old daughter Tejaswi Tureen Sumedha.
Sumedha alleged that Shishir and a group of at least 10 others physically assaulted the building’s security guard and removed the nameplate identifying the residence.
Tureen’s family resides on one floor of the building, while the other units are rented out to tenants.
At the time of the incident, Sumedha said she was not at home and had gone out for work.
Police were called to the scene shortly after the confrontation began.
Upon their arrival, Shishir reportedly withdrew from his position and left the property.
In the aftermath, authorities advised Sumedha to remain cautious.
She was instructed to notify law enforcement immediately if any further disturbances occurred at the house.
The altercation follows Tureen’s arrest the previous night, stemming from an alleged attempted murder involving a student named Abdul Jabbar during the July Uprising.
After being presented in court on Tuesday, Turin was remanded into four-day police custody for interrogation related to the case.
Meanwhile Tureen and Shishir have been embroiled in a longstanding legal dispute over the Uttara residence, which the ex-ICT prosecutor inherited from her father.
A court hearing on the property matter has been scheduled for Apr 30, following an appeal filed on Mar 12.
Despite this, Shishir allegedly arrived on Tuesday declaring he had won the case, prompting the confrontation at the home.
“This morning, he [Shishir] came to the house and kept saying he had won the case. However, the date of our case is on Apr 30. I was not at home at that time. I had gone out for some work,” said Sumedha.
“Nearly 10 people came and attacked the house.”
Sumedha described the tension that unfolded after she learned of the attempted intrusion.
“I came quickly and asked the rickshaw-puller to park the rickshaw by the side of the house,” she said.
“In the meantime, one of his people saw me, followed me, and called Shishir.”
Fearing the situation could escalate, Sumedha attempted to head to the police station.
“When I told the rickshaw driver to go to the police station, he [Shishir’s men] stopped the rickshaw driver and said, ‘talk to me’,” she recounted.
“I told him repeatedly that ‘I don’t want to talk to you’. He still tried to forcefully talk to me.”
Sumedha continued, “He was asking about my guardian. He asked who will look after me now.”
She further alleged that her uncle, Shishir intimidated the building’s tenants.
“He said to them, ‘you will leave in 30 seconds’. Is it possible for a person to leave in 30 seconds? Why would he threaten our tenants like this?”
Later, after Sumedha contacted law-enforcing agencies, police responded and brought the situation under control.
“Police gave them a warning,” she said.
“Police told me to be calm, to call them if there is any problem.”
Saddam Hossain, assistant commissioner of DMP’s Uttara Zone confirmed the conflict stemmed from a long-running family dispute.
“There is a family dispute over the house where Tureen Afroz used to live,” he told bdnews24.com.
“A case is ongoing in this regard.”
“Today, that gentleman named Shishir went to that house,” he said.
“Although he claimed ownership of the house, he could not show the proper documents, since the case is ongoing.”
“We told him that if there is a problem, the court will decide it, and if he is the owner of the house, we asked him to show the proper documents,” Saddam added.
“She [Tureen] was arrested yesterday and she has a daughter, so we asked him why he came to forcefully occupy the house.”
bdnews24.com was unable to obtain a statement from Shishir regarding the matter.
Sumedha said that her mother Tureen is the elder of the two siblings, and Shishir is her maternal uncle.
She explained that her maternal grandfather is deceased, and Tureen is his biological daughter, while Shishir is the only child of her grandfather’s second wife.
“My maternal grandfather has two houses—one in Hatirpool, the other in Uttara,” she said.
“The house in Hatirpool was given to Shishir uncle and the Uttara house was given to my mother. Then they [Shishir’s side] are trying to claim this house as theirs by presenting fake papers in court.”
