Who is Nasir Uddin Mahmood?

All eyes now are on Nasir Uddin Mahmood alias Nasir U Mahmood, a little-known but an influential 61-year-old businessman, who has been accused of attempting rape and murder of Dhalywood's popular actress Shamsunnahar Smrity, popularly known as Pori Moni among her legion of fans. 

Nasir was active member of "Chhatrasamaj", student wing of the Jatiya Party. Later, after joining the Jatiya Party during former president late Hussein Muhammad Ershad's regime, his career as a contractor started to get going. 

He established himself as an "A" category contractor in several government and semi-government organisations of the country. In 1993, he joined the real estate business.

Now, Nasir Uddin is an established businessman in the real estate sector. He is the chairman of Kunjo Properties, a founding executive member of Dhaka Boat Club and a former president of Uttara Club Ltd. He is also a presidium member of the Jatiya Party, the opposition party in parliament. 

He also tried to get nomination form Jhalakathi Sadar constituency in last 2018's parliament election and also tried to grab the nomination in the recently announced by-poll elections to Dhaka-18. However, he could not secure a nomination from the party twice.   

His company has housing projects in different places of the capital and its outskirts. 

The company's valuation amounts to around Tk300 crore, said Shahadat Hossain, a director of Real Estate & Housing Association of Bangladesh (REHAB). 

Another property related website showed that the real estate company has still three ongoing projects in the capital. 

However, this correspondent found Kunjo Developers' website down and Nasir U Mahmood's personal Facebook account deactivated since the night the actress complained against him. 

Nasir Mahmood was also one of the first-class contractors in the country. His contracting company is Mahmood Builders and Associates Limited. "He has strong connections with politicians, business giants and law enforcement agencies," a director of the REHAB,  told The Business Standard, seeking anonymity. 

As a student, during the Ershad's regime, he was the student leader of the Jatiya Party's then student wing "Notun Bangla Chhatrasamaj" and was elected as the general secretary of Dhaka University's SM Hall Chhatra Sansad. He was also a former footballer of Dhaka First Division Football League. Later, he led various organisations, including Uttara Club in the capital.

Nasir U Mahmood in his sixties is the father of two children.

Nasir was born in Jhalakati district's Sadar municipality. His father Harun Or Rashid retired as assistant superintendent of police and uncle Belayet Hossain was the two-term elected chairman of the municipality with the tickets of BNP and Awami League. 

Nasir studied at Dhaka University. From this educational institution, he took an MSc degree in the Soil, Water and Environmental Science department and completed MBA.

According to the website of Kunj Developers Limited, Nasir was the general secretary of Salimullah Hall Student Parliament of Dhaka University in 1981-82. He was later elected vice-president of the students' alumni association of that residential hall.

On completion of his student life, he joined the then ruling Jatiya Party and his contracting business got momentum. Nasir served as a contractor for the development and procurement of various government, semi-government and autonomous organisations in the country, including the Public Works Department and the Local Government Engineering Department. Thus, he continued to be considered as one of the leading contractors in the country.

"But he has recently adopted a 'lobbying business' as his contractor and other housing businesses suffered losses. He mainly lobbies on behalf of other contractors to get mega-projects of different kinds of agencies," said a real estate businessman.  

Nasir, a former member of the executive council of the Bangladesh Association of Construction Industries (BACI), was the elected president of the Uttara Club in 2015, 2016 and 2017, and the former district chairman of Lions Club International. 

Then in 2013-14, he became a member of Dhaka Boat Club. He was also the president of Dhaka Boat Club once. Of course, he is also a founding member of the club.

When the Jatiya Party split in 2001, he joined Naziur Rahman Manzur's Bangladesh Jatiya Party, which became part of the then BNP-Jamaat-led four-party ruling coalition. Later in 2008, he returned to Ershad's Jatiya Party and became a member of the party's presidium board.

In addition to the contracting business, Nasir joined the real estate business in 1993 formed by Kunjo Developers Limited. His real estate company is a member of the REHAB, an association of real estate business owners in the country.

Asked about this, Alamgir Shasul Alamin, president of the REHAB, said, "We know him. He was the president of Uttara Club more than once. I am also a member of that club. Besides, since he was also a member of REHAB, I knew him from that source. He is an established entrepreneur in the real estate sector."

When asked if REHAB is in an image crisis, the REHAB president said, "The REHAB, an organisation of 1,200 members, is not in an image crisis at all. Educated and established and well-known businessmen of the country have found a place here."

When contacted, Dhaka University Teachers' Association General Secretary Nizamul Haque Bhuyian, also an executive committee member of Dhaka Boat Club, denied to make any comment regarding their member, Nasir U Mahmood. 

TBS also contacted Kunjo Developers' official number as Nasim U Mahmood's phone number was switched off. 

Meanwhile, Jatiya Party Lawmaker Mujibul Haque Chunnu on Tuesday defended Nasiruddin Mahmud. 

"A member of the parliament demanded justice for actress Pori Moni yesterday. I know a person who has been arrested in the case. He was elected president of Uttara Club three times. He is also an activist of Jatiya Party and a good man," said Mujibul while participating in a discussion on the proposed national budget forFY22 at parliament.