Lt Gen (retd) Masud placed on 5-day remand in human trafficking case
Police say he faces 10 more cases
A Dhaka court today (24 March) granted a five-day remand for former army officer and ex-MP from Feni-3, Lieutenant General (retd) Masud Uddin Chowdhury, in a human trafficking case filed with Paltan Police Station in the capital.
Earlier in the day, the investigating officer of the case, Sub-Inspector Raihanur Rahman of the Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, had sought the remand for Masud, arrested from his Baridhara DOHS residence the previous night.
During the remand hearing, Public Prosecutor Omar Faruk Faruqi told the court that the accused had embezzled Tk24,000 crore under the guise of sending workers abroad.
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During the so-called 1/11 changeover, the accused and others formed a "Truth Commission," where they would detain businesspeople, torture them, and extort money in exchange for "promises of pardon", he added.
Omar Faruk further said political leaders were also subjected to torture, and that under the "minus two" formula, attempts were made to eliminate the Zia family.
"In a twist of fate, the very person [Tarique Rahman] they tried to torture to death is now the country's prime minister," the prosecutor said, adding that the accused must be remanded to identify who received shares of the money and where it was laundered.
Defence lawyer Morshed Hossain Shahin sought cancellation of the remand and applied for bail. After hearing both sides, Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Aminul Islam Junayed rejected the bail petition and granted the five-day remand.
At around 5:10pm, Masud Chowdhury was brought to the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) Court in Dhaka in a DB police microbus and was produced before the court at 5:18pm. At the time, pro-BNP lawyers hurled verbal abuse at him.
According to the remand application, Masud, initially questioned about the case, was "cunning and calculative," providing some important information while attempting to protect himself.
Detailed interrogation is necessary to uncover the main mystery of the case, arrest absconding accused, recover embezzled and extorted funds, and identify the core criminal network, it further read.
The application stated that keeping the accused in jail custody and interrogating him under police remand for five days is essential.
The case was filed on 3 September at Paltan Police Station by Altab Khan, proprietor of Afia Overseas, on charges of embezzlement and human trafficking through a syndicate.
A total of 103 people have been accused in the case, including former expatriates' welfare minister Imran Ahmed, former secretary Dr Ahmed Munirus Salehin, former MP and managing director of M International Limited Lt Gen (retd) Masud Uddin Chowdhury, former MP and proprietor of Ahmed International Benzir Ahmed, and proprietor of Catharsis International Md Ruhul Amin Swapan.
According to the case statement, although there are more than 2,000 recruiting agents in the manpower export sector, the accused formed a mafia-like syndicate, creating discrimination among businesses in violation of constitutional principles.
It alleges that former secretary Dr Ahmed Munirus Salehin used his son as a member of the syndicate while in office, and that former minister Imran Ahmed facilitated the group by illegally approving an app called "Probashi" in favour of his relative.
The accused allegedly exploited the complainant's simplicity through intimidation and coercion, extorting Tk1.5 lakh from each of 841 individuals – amounting to Tk12.56 crore – for the purpose of human trafficking. Additionally, they are accused of collectively extorting nearly Tk24,000 crore from other businesses and embezzling the funds.
Earlier in the day, addressing a briefing at the DMP Media Centre, the Detective Branch (DB) chief, Additional Commissioner Md Shafiqul Islam, said a DB team arrested Masud from an area in Baridhara.
He said police have so far found information on 11 cases against him. "We have got six cases filed against Masud Uddin Chowdhury in Feni, and at least five cases filed in Dhaka."
Of these, three cases in Feni are currently under trial, in which arrest warrants had been issued as he was a fugitive. The remaining eight cases are under investigation, including three more in Feni and five in Dhaka.
