Marriage registrars appointed under the former Awami League government have gone into hiding following the political transition, taking with them the “balam boi” — the official bound ledgers where every marriage and divorce is recorded. Victims and newly appointed registrars have accused several former registrars of absconding with these critical documents, leaving ordinary citizens unable to obtain certified copies of their marriage or divorce certificates. The Law Ministry has described the removal of balam boi as a criminal offense and pledged to investigate.
Inquiries have revealed that old balam boi are missing from registrar offices in Mogbazar, Tangail Sadar, and other locations across the country. After the August 5 political transition, several registrars appointed through the influence of the previous government went into hiding, worsening the crisis. Newly appointed or acting registrars have been unable to locate ledgers for specific years, preventing them from issuing certified copies of marriage certificates, divorce certificates, or English translations needed for use abroad. The Law Ministry has said such cases are unprecedented. Officials at the Registration Directorate have reported occasional complaints of tampering or information concealment in marriage registers but described the wholesale removal of balam boi as “highly unusual.”
The country has 5,578 registered kazi positions, of which roughly 500 are vacant. Since the political transition, the BNP government has appointed new registrars in only four locations, including Kalabagan and Khilgaon in Dhaka and Senbag in Noakhali.
Under Section 16 of the marriage registrar handover law, outgoing registrars are required to jointly certify all records and submit them to the district registrar or sub-registrar, who then forwards them to the government. Section 39 places registrars under the supervision of the district registrar, and Section 11 classifies falsification, violations, and concealment as ethical misconduct.
Munshiganj District Registrar Ramzan Khan said registrar appointments are made on the Law Ministry’s recommendation, but critical documents including balam boi remain in the custody of individual registrars. He suggested that requiring registrars to submit each year’s completed ledgers to the district registrar’s office before the following year could prevent such incidents and strengthen accountability.
Oversight of the country’s registrar offices falls under the judiciary wing of the Law, Justice, and Parliamentary Affairs Ministry. Officials there confirmed various irregularities in registrar operations. One official cited a case from the Sylhet region where a woman alleged that her husband had not divorced her while alive, but after his death, family members colluded with the registrar’s office to produce a backdated divorce document. A subsequent investigation by the sub-registrar found no postal record of any divorce-related correspondence. The matter was referred for reinvestigation through the district registrar. The registrar in question then filed a case against the husband’s family, accusing them of entrapping him. The investigation is ongoing.
Senior Assistant Secretary Abdul Wahab, who oversees registrar offices, declined to comment, saying any official information would require approval from senior authorities.
Law Secretary Liakat Ali Molla said no such complaints had been formally received by his office but expressed surprise, calling the removal of balam boi a criminal offense. He pledged to contact the relevant offices and take necessary action.
Munshi Moklechur Rahman, the recently outgoing Dhaka District Registrar, said he received no such complaints during his tenure. However, the Mogbazar registrar office (Ward 35) has seen a growing number of people unable to obtain copies of their marriage documents. Applications from three affected individuals — Kamrul Rahman, Masudur Rahman, and Jaheda Hossen — are on file.
Masudur Rahman said a relative’s marriage was registered on June 10, 2016. When he sought an English copy of the marriage certificate for use abroad, he learned that the former registrar — a former youth league leader — had taken three balam boi, each containing 100 pages, when he fled.
Kamrul Rahman said he applied on July 23 for a certified copy of a document executed on February 6, 2016, in Ward 19 of Dhaka South City Corporation, but the current registrar could not provide it because the balam boi is missing. Jaheda Hossen reported a similar ordeal when trying to obtain her daughter’s marriage certificate.
Mawlana Selim Reza, the current registrar at the Mogbazar office, said former registrar Sagar Ahmed Shahin took several balam boi when he fled after the fall of the Awami League government. No inventory of the missing ledgers was provided to the new appointees. As a result, whenever someone requests a marriage or divorce certificate, a search reveals that certain ledgers are missing. Reza added that serious forgery has been found in some remaining ledgers — pages had been removed and replaced, and in some divorce cases, only signatures were collected without recording the full details.
Former registrar Sagar Ahmed Shahin, who was the Lalbagh Chhatra League president, denied the allegations. He said he did not take any balam boi and left all ledgers at the office, claiming the accusations were intended to malign him. He said he was arrested for political reasons and that the employment matter is currently before the High Court. He also claimed he was being harassed through payments to the current law minister.
Affected citizens have demanded a permanent administrative solution, including the recovery of missing balam boi, security guarantees for official records, effective action against those responsible, and accountability measures to prevent similar incidents in the future.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report