13/07/2026
Haridas Chandra Taruni Das, later known as Md. Tawhid Islam after converting to Islam, is married to Sumi Islam. Sumi is the daughter of a Muslim vegetable vendor from Dhaka. Haridas reportedly lived as a subtenant in a house in Uttara, where he became acquainted with her.
In 2019, with the intention of marrying Sumi Islam, Haridas Chandra Taruni Das formally renounced Hinduism through an affidavit, converted to Islam, and adopted the name Md. Tawhid Islam.
After the marriage, Tawhid frequently visited his in-laws' area in Fulbaria, Mymensingh. According to reports, he sought to establish himself as an influential figure among local residents by purchasing large tracts of land and investing millions of taka to build a resort known as "Paris Swimming Pool Entertainment Park."
To enhance his credibility among the public and government officials, Tawhid allegedly used Photoshop to create highly convincing images of himself with the then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. He reportedly kept one such edited image as the wallpaper on his mobile phone and showed it to others as evidence of his influence. He was also accused of forging Demi-Official (DO) letters bearing fake seals and signatures of the Prime Minister's Office to lobby various government ministries.
According to the allegations, Tawhid saved the phone numbers of his associates under the names of members of Sheikh Hasina's family and other influential ministers. In front of potential victims, he would call those numbers and stage fake conversations to convince them that he had close connections with powerful political figures.
On 8 November 2022, Tawhid was arrested for the first time in a joint operation conducted by the National Security Intelligence (NSI) and the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) in Banani, Dhaka. He was accused of defrauding people by impersonating associates of the Prime Minister and damaging the reputation of her family.
After being released on bail, and following the political changes of 5 August 2024, Tawhid returned to his native village of Palashbari in Gaibandha, where he reportedly resumed using his former Hindu identity, Haridas Chandra.
In Madhya Ramchandrapur village, Haridas began renovating and modernizing the Sri Sri Radha-Gobinda and Kali Temple, situated on approximately two acres of land. With donations collected from members of the Hindu community, a 28-foot statue of Lord Shiva and a 53-foot statue of Lord Krishna were constructed.
On 26 October 2025, the Krishna statue was inaugurated by Shri Manoj Kumar, the Assistant High Commissioner of India. Construction of an 81-foot statue of Lord Rama is reportedly underway. (Source: Prothom Alo, 13 July 2026.)
However, the sudden accumulation of wealth by Haridas Chandra—who was once reportedly impoverished—along with revelations about his past religious conversion and previous arrest on fraud-related allegations, has raised suspicions among local Hindus and other residents.
According to the claims presented in the report, whenever Tawhid/Haridas settled in a new area, he would adopt whatever religious identity best suited his circumstances in order to gain people's trust and facilitate his alleged fraudulent activities. Despite changing his public identity, it is claimed that he continued to practice Islam in his family life. As these matters became known to neighbors and relatives, some reportedly provided information about him to national news media.
The report further claims that while staying in India, he prepared official documents under the name "Tarun Das." It also alleges that he became involved in similar fraudulent activities there, which ultimately forced him to return to Bangladesh.
