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Activities of three MPs trigger controversies


Published : 22 Jun 2020 09:44 PM | Updated : 07 Sep 2020 08:58 PM

Controversial activities and irregularities allegedly by three members of parliament have sparked a barrage of criticism against them.

Among them, Kazi Shahid Islam Papul, an independent MP from Lakshmipur-2 constituency, was arrested in Kuwait on charges of human trafficking and money laundering recently. The incident has caused much damage to the country’s image abroad.

There are allegations that Papul and his wife Selina Islam, also a member of parliament for the reserved seat, are involved in siphoning off hundreds of crores of taka from the country.

The couple have allegedly trafficked more than 20,000 men and women from Bangladesh to different countries in the last 7 8 years.

The two other MPs allegedly involved in various irregularities and controversial activities are Naimur Rahman Durjoy, who represents Manikganj-1 constituency in parliament, and Enamul Haque, the lawmaker for Rajshahi-4 seat – both elected from the ruling party.

When people are living in extreme anxiety due to the coronavirus, many associates of Durjoy have been allegedly involved in various criminal activities in Manikganj. Sources said the lawmaker has been indulging in extortion, land grabbing, abuse of power and nepotism.

Enamul Haque is facing allegation of persecution of a woman, who claimed to be his second wife and gave a Facebook post recently.

Arrest of Papul in Kuwait
Kazi Shahid Islam Papul is currently in jail after being detained and remanded by the CID police in Kuwait on charges of money and human trafficking. His arrest at a time when the world is speaking in unison against money laundering and human trafficking has tarnished the country’s image abroad.

In February, Kuwaiti media reported that three Bangladeshis were operating a human trafficking racket in the Middle Eastern country. On February 12, a report in the Arab Times said one of the three was a “member of parliament in Bangladesh”.
According to the report, the trio “occupied sensitive positions” in three major companies that brought over 20,000 Bangladeshi workers to Kuwait in exchange for an amount believed to be close to Tk 1,400 crore.

Commotion over MP Durjoy’s activities
Media outlets ran several news stories in the last few days about various irregularities, corruption, nepotism and extortion allegedly by Naimur Rahman Durjoy MP.

According to media reports, various forms of corruption Durjoy and his associates have started coming out. One of his scandals is centring the extraction of sand from the Jamuna River with a BIWTA dredger. He is doing it in the name of preventing river erosion near Aricha Ghat and storing the sand in an abandoned dilapidated brick kiln in Nihalpur area for sale.

The sand business has been going on for a long time in the name of the MP by occupying the huge BIWTA terminal at Aricha. The speedboat business on the Aricha-Kazirhat water route is also being operated illegally in the name of MP Durjoy.

There are also allegations that, work on the solar power plant at Alokdia Char in Shibaloy has come to a halt for the MP.
All kinds of contracting work in Shibaloy, Gior and Daulatpur upazilas of Manikganj was carried out allegedly at the behest of Durjoy. The contractors do not dare to carry out any activities there without pleasing the leaders of the group he controls.

Many unemployed youths of Durjoy’s constituency have reportedly paid money to his associates on commitment of giving jobs in various educational institutions, but none of them got a job, nor did they get their money back.

Controversy chasing MP Enamul
Lawmaker Enamul Haque’s secret second marriage and sudden divorce was reported in the media on the basis of status on Facebook. A woman named Ayesha Akhter Liza claims to be the second wife of the MP and has accused him of marrying her in secret, through various Facebook posts. Many of their intimate pictures were also published on Facebook and in newspapers.

A case has also been filed against Liza for defaming and demanding extortion of crores of taka. Enamul’s personal assistant Asaduzzaman Asad, vice-chairman of Bagmara Upazila Parishad, filed the case under the ICT Act. In the case, Liza was mentioned as the divorced wife of Enamul.

As a reason for the dispute, Liza said the MP has denied the matter as she publicly demanded the “dignity of the wife.”
According to Liza, she and the MP’s love affair started on April, 30, 2013. However, to maintain his popularity among the locals, Enamul had convinced her not to come public as his second wife until he got elected for the second time. In 2015, when Liza got pregnant with Enamul’s child, he allegedly made her abort the child. They got married on May 11, 2018.
Enamul told reporters that the matter of marriage was true but it was consummated two years ago.