Selim Prodhan, 8 others sent to jail in illegal shisha bar case
This is not Selim’s first brush with the law. On 30 September 2019, during the nationwide anti-casino drive, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested him at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.
A Dhaka court has ordered casino "kingpin" Selim Prodhan and eight others to be sent to jail in a case filed with Gulshan Police Station under the Narcotics Control Act for operating an unauthorised shisha bar.
Metropolitan Magistrate Md Minhajur Rahman passed the order this afternoon (6 September).
The other accused sent to jail are Rakibul Islam Rafi, Sadikul Islam Suman, Toufiqul Islam, Rifat Hasan, Robiul Hasan, Minhajur Rahman Tajbir, Mehedi Hasan and Saimum Islam, according to Gulshan Police Station Sub-Inspector (SI) Md Habibur Rahman, who is also the investigation officer of the case.
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SI Habibur produced the accused before the court and sought to keep them in custody.
He stated in the remand plea that during primary interrogation, the accused admitted they had long been running the illegal shisha bar at the restaurant and revealed some crucial information, which is now being verified. For the sake of proper investigation and justice, the officer argued, their detention in jail was necessary.
Police arrested Selim and the eight others in the early hours today from a restaurant in Baridhara. According to the case statement, police received information around 2:30am that illegal narcotics were being sold at Nexus Cafe Palace inside the Baridhara diplomatic zone.
When officers raided the place at about 3am, the accused attempted to flee but were arrested. Law enforcers seized 6.7 kilogrammes of shisha, seven shisha stands, and other equipment from the scene, according to police.
This is not Selim's first brush with the law. On 30 September 2019, during the nationwide anti-casino drive, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested him at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.
Raids on his Gulshan and Banani residences and office later uncovered Tk29 lakh in cash, a large quantity of foreign liquor, currencies from different countries, and deer hides.
A mobile court then sentenced him to six months in prison, the same day, under the Wildlife Conservation Act over the seized deer hides.
Subsequently, on 27 October 2019, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed a case against Selim for amassing Tk12.28 crore in illegal wealth.
The investigation later uncovered over Tk57 crore worth of illicit assets, and he was sentenced to eight years in prison in that case. He was released on bail in October 2023.
