Habibullah Mizan
Two top leaders of the youth wing of the ruling party had sheltered the recently expelled Dhaka City Jubo League leader Khaled Mahmud Bhuiyan.
According to intelligent sources who interrogated Khaled after his arrest on Wednesday, he disclosed the names of an Awami League presidium member and a top leader of Jubo League as his main patron.
Sources also said though Khaled was once a central leader of BNP backed student organisation, Bangladesh Jatiyatabi Chattra Dal (JCD) and later top leader of Jubo Dal, he was picked up for Jubo League after Awami League came to power after bribing some Jubo League and a central AL leader. Immediately after he joined Jubo League, he was awarded with the Organising Secretary post of Dhaka City (South) Jubo League.
After he succeeded bagging the vital post, various leaders who were also aspirants for the post, became completely surprised. But when they came to know that an influential AL presidium member and a top leader of Jubo League had directly chosen Khaled for the post, no one dared to raise any question, sources claimed.
Bangladesh Post, however, could not independently verify the claim.
Party insiders said before joining BNP-affiliated organisations JCD and Jubo Dal, Khaled was directly involved in Freedom Party, which was later banned by Awami League government, after top leaders of the party were executed for assassinating Father of the Nation on the dark night of August 15 in 1975.
“Not only this, Khaled was also a charge-sheeted accused in the case filed over 1989 attack on Sheikh Hasina,” the intelligent sources said.
But, as his detailed address was not mentioned in the charge sheet, he managed to acquit from the case finally. An Additional Deputy Commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) on condition of anonymity said Khaled admitted that he was involved in manipulating tender in different government offices getting support mainly from some politicians.
More than Tk 200 crore projects of Khaled are currently under progress in the capital.
But he claimed that running casino was not his major source of income.
Sources claimed that Swechchhasebak League President Molla Mohammad Abu Kawser runs casino at Dhaka Wonderers Club, Dhaka South City Corporation Councilor AKM Mominul Haque Sayeed runs Arambagh Sporting Club, Diikhusha Sporting Club and Mohamedan Sporting Club, Ismail Hossain Somrat runs casino at Victoria Sporting Club.
He himself runs casino at Fakirapool Yongmen Club for the last seven months. He told detectives that he and Somrat collected extortion money from these illegal casinos on a daily basis.
A good amount from the collected money goes to the two controversial politicians.
He also disclosed that some officials of law enforcing agencies and even some journalists were also getting extortion money, some on weekly basis while some on motherly basis through Somrat.
Another ADC of DMP who personally grilled Khaled said, “Khaled claimed that he is not Yaba addict. So he does not know how the Yaba was seized from his possession.”
About the illegal arms, Khaled claimed that as he has license of three arms, he does not need to keep any illegal arms. He also claimed that he does not know how the illegal arms came to his residence. He however admitted that some arms licenses were not renewed timely.