Gambling was Samrat’s only addiction, says his wife
Samrat used to visit Singapore to take part in gambling
Gambling is the only addiction of Jubo League Leader Ismail Hossain Samrat; he is not addicted to anything else, according to Samrat's second wife Sharmin Chowdhury.
Samrat used to visit Singapore to take part in gambling, she said while talking to the media on Sunday.
Samrat, the president of Dhaka City South Jubo League, has been making headlines ever since the government has launched crackdown raids on gambling establishments. He is reportedly the kingpin of the illegal casino business in Dhaka.
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Sharmin, however, said she does not know how her husband got involved in the casino business in Bangladesh.
She said, "I did not know that he ran casinos. I came to know this only after the media published news about it."
"He could raise hell if he wanted. But, if he had committed any crime, he should be punished according to the law of the country," she added.
Sharmin also thought that her husband's involvement in casino business was logical.
She said, "I think he spent the money received from the casino business on the party leaders and activists. People do not come the meetings and processions for nothing. You have to spend money to bring them in. He (Samrat) worked very hard for the party."
Sharmin also thanked the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for the recent crackdown on the illegal gambling rackets.
Earlier on the day, the Rapid Action Battalion raided Samrat's second wife Sharmin's house in the capital's Mohakhali DOHS area, but did not find anything illegal there, said related sources.
Sharmin Chowdhury lives with their only child.
After the raid, Lieutenant Colonel Ashik Billah, commanding officer of RAB-2, told the reporters that they did not find illegal money or anything else in Sharmin's house.
Sharmin said Samrat did not go to that house for the last two years, but he kept providing her maintenances.
She married Samrat in July 2001, but she never got involved in politics and remained a homemaker only, claimed Sharmin.
About her husband, Sharmin said, "Samrat is a very nice person. He gave me everything I ever wanted. He did not come to this house in the last two years."
