Special Correspondent
In a pre-dawn raid the elite force, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested the Illegal casino kingpin Ismail Hossain Samrat and his accomplice Enamul Haque Arman from Chauddagram in Cumilla on Sunday. The much talked about casino don Samrat and Arman are also president and vice-president of Dhaka South City unit of Jubo League respectively. Lt Col Sarwar Bin Kashem, Director of RAB Legal and Media wing, confirmed the arrests when this correspondent sought news of the raids.
Casino king
Hours after their arrests, Jubo League, an affiliated organization of ruling Awami League, expelled both of them from the party for violating party discipline and being involved in anti-social activities as well. Iqbal Mahmood Bablu, publication secretary of Central Juba League, confirmed the matter to the Bangladesh Post.
Somrat and Arman were immediately driven to the capital for detention. Immediately after Somrat was brought to Dhaka, RAB officials raided at his Kakraik office and his two residences in the capital. RAB personnel also raided the residences of Arman in the city. The drive continued till filing of this report at around 5:30pm.
Mizanur Rahman, Senior Assistant Superintendent of RAB described how the criminals were arrested. He told Bangladesh Post that at around 5:00am on Sunday a team of RAB-7 raided a house and arrested Samrat and Amran in Cumilla’s Chouddagram upazila. Hided at Jamaat leader’s house
The Alkura union chairman, Golam Faruk told local journalists that a team of RAB-7 from Dhaka surrounded the house of one Munir Chowdhury at Kunjusshree village in the union since Saturday evening and later arrested Samrat from the house. Golam Faruk claimed that the house owner Munir Chowdhury is a current leader of Jamaat-e-Islam and was a former leader of Bangladesh Chhatra Shibir, the student body of Jamaat.
There had been wide speculations about the arrest of Samrat, the alleged kingpins of casino business in the capital, for the last couple of weeks. Various sources from different law enforcement agencies earlier said that Samrat was already arrested following the ongoing crackdown against casino business in Dhaka. But, none of them ever spoke about his arrest on record.
Tried to escape to India
Samrat tried flee to India via Cumilla border, however RAB intelligence found out about his whereabouts. Rise of Somrat Starting out as a Chhatra League leader in 1990, Samrat's duty back then was to organise protests in different parts of the capital, aimed at ousting HM Ershad from power. He was later jailed and tortured for his role in the movement.
In 1991 Samrat joined the Jubo League, where Nurunnabi Chowdhury Shawon, the then city unit president of the organisation played a key role in helping Samrat to rise to power. Samrat became an influential leader during the 1996-2001 tenure of the Awami League government, and retained his position as a top leader during the 1/11 changeover.
Later in 2008, when Awami League was voted to power again after the tenure of the caretaker government, Samrat continued his rise through the ranks, ending up as the Dhaka south city unit Jubo League president at its sixth council on July 14, 2012. Prime Minister Office receives complain
According to intelligence sources, a complaint letter was sent to the Prime Minister's Office around two months ago, claiming that extortion, tender manipulation and the drug trade could not be controlled in Dhaka because of Samrat and his cohorts. Immediate action was sought to that effect.
That action came earlier this month when RAB on September 18, raided illegal casinos being run by sporting clubs in the capital. Meanwhile, Samrat is expected to be produced before court of Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Ashek Imam on Sunday evening. Confirming the matter to ADC Fazlur Rashid (Prosecution Division) of DMP, he said: "Samrat has been shown arrest in a case filed with Motijheel police station."
Samrat is reported to have been the main mastermind behind the capital’s casino gambling business, and therefore, a key suspect. He left Kamrail office on September 22 Earlier, on the night of the initial crackdown, Samrat hid himself in his office at Kakrail's Bhuiyan Mansion. He was initially surrounded and being protected by hundreds of his followers, mostly Jubo League activists, who had cordoned off the building where he was staying.
Intelligence sources said that Samrat secretly managed to escape at around 3:30 am on September 22 and left the areas riding in a black tinted vehicle, said an official of Ramna Division of DMP. Took shelter at an influential politician’s residence Intelligence sources said that Samrat, after escaping his office in Kakrail, took shelter at an influential politician's residence to delay his arrest as long as possible.
On September 28, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said only RAB has been given the responsibility of conducting the illegal anti-casino operations to avoid harassment of the common people. He further said that it does not matter who Samrat is and he will be treated as per the laws.
Also attempted to leave Bangladesh through airport Samrat originally tried to flee the country last week, but police intercepted him at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport and barred him from leaving the country. Since then he could not be traced. Somrat applied various techniques to avoid arrest: RAB DG Meanwhile, Benazir Ahmed, RAB Director General (DG) said it took them more than the usual time to locate the actual whereabouts of the Jubo League leader Ismail Chowdhury Samrat.
He made this remark while replying to a question from journalists at the RAB Headquarters on Sunday. Benazir said, “Samrat went into hiding within two days of the ongoing illegal casino raid across the country. Media’s constant curiosity and interests about Samrat’s whereabouts annoyed Samrat. So he used various techniques so that law enforcers could not trace him.” The techniques were not mentioned.
Torture cell discovered
After completing the raid at Somrat’s office, Lt Col Sarwar Bin Kashem said, “ We have seized a pistol with five rounds of bullet, 1160 pieces of contraband Yaba pill, 19 bottles of foreign liquor, two skins of wild animal kangaroo and two electric machines used for torturing people with electric shocks.” Responding to a question about the masterminds of Samrat, he said, “We shall soon find out the identities.”
Jailed six months RAB executive Magistrate Mohammad Sarwar Alam said, “Both Somrat was sentenced to a six months jail for keeping skins of whale, a sea animals in his possession.”
Arman was also given same period of imprisonment by another mobile court as he was found drunk during the raid. The arrested persons have been sent to Keraniganj jail.
