Harunur Rashid (born 1 January 1962)[1] is a Bangladesh Nationalist Party politician and the incumbent Jatiya Sangsad member from the Chapai Nawabganj-3 constituency since January 2019.
Rashid was elected to Jatiya Sangsad from Chapai Nawabganj-3 in the June 1996 Bangladeshi general election as a candidate of Bangladesh Nationalist Party.[2] He had received 77,929 votes while his nearest rival, Latifur Rahman of the Awami League, had received 47,048 votes.[2]
Rashid was re-elected in the 2001 Bangladeshi general election.[2] He had received 85,489 votes while the same rival, Latifur Rahman of the Awami League, had received 60,460 votes.[2]
Rashid contested the 2008 Bangladeshi general election from Chapai Nawabganj-3 as the Bangladesh Nationalist Party candidate but lost to Abdul Odud of the Awami League.[3] He received 76,178 votes while the winner received 112,753 votes.[3] Latifur Rahman of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami also campaigned against him.[4]
Rashid boycotted the 2014 election as per decision of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and Abdul Odud of the Awami League was elected to parliament uncontested from Chapai Nawabganj-3.[5]
Rashid was elected to parliament from Chapai Nawabganj-3 as a Bangladesh Nationalist Party candidate on 30 December 2018.[6][7] He had received 133,661 votes while Abdul Odul of the Awami League and his nearest rival received 85,938 votes.[8] He took the oath of office 90 days after the mandated time following instructions of Tarique Rahman.[9] The four Bangladesh Nationalist Party members of parliament initially refused to join parliament as they had deemed the election unfair.[9]
Rashid in parliament asked the speaker to create a committee to investigate the large number of cases filed against Bangladesh Nationalist Party politicians.[10]
Assistant Director Monayem Hossain of the Anti-Corruption Commission filed a case against Rashid for tax fraud in March 2007 with Tejgaon police station and then pressed charge in July.[11][12] Rashid had imported a Hummer H2 on 25 April 2005 without paying tax as per his privilege as a member of parliament but later sold the to Ishtiak Sadek, violating the rules of the duty free facility, who sold it to Enayetur Rahman Bappi.[13][14][15] The car, imported under duty free privilege, cannot be sold under less than years of being purchased.[14] Rapid Action Battalion-2, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Akbar Hossain, had spotted the Hummer in Panthapath and asked the men to come to their camp where they were detained.[16]
In October 2019, Judge Shaikh Nazmul Alam of the Dhaka court sentenced Rashid to five years' imprisonment for dodging taxes while importing a luxurious car in 2007 and fined him five million taka.[11] It also sent his co-accused former managing director of NTV and Channel 9, Enayetur Rahman Bappi, to two years imprisonment.[11][13] His other co-accused proprietor of Sky Autos, Ishtiak Sadek, sentenced to jail for three years.[11] A week later, the High Court granted him six months' bail in the case.[17]
Justices Obaidul Hassan and AKM Zahirul Huq asked the government to explain why Rashid's parliamentary membership should not be canceled due to his conviction.[18][19]
On 9 December 2021, Justice Md Selim of Bangladesh High court upheld the verdict in the tax evasion case against Rashid after hearing his appeal.[20] The High Court commuted his sentence to time served.[21]
Rashid is married to Syeda Asifa Ashrafi Papia.[22]