Awami League lawmaker Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh on Saturday questioned why the President of Jubo League’s Dhaka South unit Ismail Hossain Samrat and former BASIC Bank Ltd Cchairman Sheikh Abdul Hye Bachchu have not yet been arrested. “Though the prime minister asked to arrest casino kingpins, corrupts and tender manipulators, but Samrat and Bachchu have not been arrested yet,” he said at a discussion in the city.
He also heavily came down on the law enforcement agencies to arrest Samrat and Bachchu immediately in order to carry out the prime minister’s order.
Fazle Noor Taposh asked the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to take necessary steps in order to arrest Bachchu.
Earlier the government imposed a travel ban on Samrat, meaning he can no longer leave the country.
Samrat, one of the alleged kingpins of the “casino” business in the capital, was said to have been holed up in his Kakrail office since September 18 -- the day organising secretary of Dhaka South Jubo League Khalid Mahmud Bhuiyan was arrested in connection with running another gambling den at a club in Fakirerpool.
Sources within the ruling party said a number of other Jubo League and AL leaders also went into hiding following the government’s drive against “casinos”.
Samrat could not be reached for comments despite repeated attempts. His mobile phone was found switched off.
Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal recently said Samrat would be arrested if police found proof against him.
The drive against “casinos” began days after the Prime Minister and Awami League President Sheikh Hasina expressed her resentment over the issue.
On the other hand, the ACC interrogated Bacchu several times in connection with a case over embezzlement of huge amount of money from the bank.
Earlier, the central bank sent a report on the scam to the ACC on July 14, 2014 with details of the embezzlement and found Bacchu’s illegal influence in all the activities of the bank.
According to an inquiry of Bangladesh Bank, about Tk 4,500 crore was swindled out from Basic Bank during six years while Sheikh Abdul Hye Bachhu served as its chairman. He resigned from the bank on July 4, 2014, as the finance ministry sent a letter to Bangladesh Bank to dissolve the then existing committee of the bank on May 29, 2014.
