Ex-MP Shahjahan Khan's daughter alleges brother took over family properties, denied inheritance

Ayesha Akter Shithil, daughter of deceased former Patuakhali-3 lawmaker Shahjahan Khan, has alleged that her elder brother Mohammad Shiplu Khan took control of their late father's properties and denied her and their younger brother their rightful inheritance.

She made the allegations at a press conference at the Sagar-Runi Auditorium of Dhaka Reporters Unity today (4 October).

In a written statement, Shithil said their father was injured in an attack on 4 November 2022 while travelling to attend a divisional rally in Barishal. He died at a hospital in Dhaka on 28 November, leaving behind his wife, two sons and a daughter.

Shithil said the three siblings are the heirs to their father's movable and immovable properties.

She alleged that Shiplu has been solely occupying most of the properties and that she and her younger brother were threatened and physically assaulted when they sought their shares.

She said her mother filed a complaint with Patuakhali Sadar Police Station on 7 May 2024, while she filed a general diary on the same day. The family later applied to Patuakhali Municipality seeking their rightful shares.

According to Shithil, their father owned a house on around 10 kathas of land in Adalatpara, a six-storey hotel on Sadar Road and a multi-storey building in Sabujbagh. The latter has 19 flats, she claimed.

"My father has 17 flats in Sabujbagh and a house in Adalatpara, yet I live in a rented house in Patuakhali. I am somehow managing my life by taking loans from different NGOs," she said.

She added that her younger brother Shakhil Khan is staying at his in-laws' home in Dhaka because he has nowhere else to live.

Shithil also said part of their father's business loan remains unpaid and that Pubali Bank PLC's Patuakhali branch issued an auction notice for the properties on 12 January 2026. She claimed she later applied to the bank and managed to suspend the auction process.

She further accused Shiplu of drug dealing, land grabbing, extortion and using political influence. The allegations could not be independently verified.

Responding to questions from journalists, Shithil alleged that Shiplu had close ties with Awami League leaders during the previous government and used political influence to deprive the family of their properties.

"He has not allowed me to enter my home for four years. He is occupying all the properties alone. We only want justice," she said.

Shithil urged law enforcement agencies and the administration to investigate the allegations and take necessary action.