Samrat sent to jail again

Expelled Jubo League leader and casino kingpin Ismail Hossain Chowdhury Samrat has been sent to jail again by a Dhaka court today.

Samrat had surrendered at the Dhaka Special Judge's Court-6 on Tuesday in a case of acquiring assets beyond his known sources of income. He had appealed for bail but was denied by the court.

He was initially granted bail in the case for amassing wealth illegally on 11 May by Dhaka Special Judge Court-6 Judge Al Asad Md Asifuzzaman.

Among the four cases against him, Samrat secured bail in a money laundering case and possession of arms case on 10 April. On 11 April he was granted bail in a narcotics case.

He was released on 11 May from the prison cell of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSSMU) Hospital after getting bail in all the four cases.

After his release, he stayed in the hospital for treatment.

Later on 16 May, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) appealed to the High Court to cancel the bail order in a case filed by ACC itself in 2019.

On 18 May, the two-member High Court bench led by Md Nazrul Islam Talukder cancelled his bail and ordered him to surrender at the special judge's court within seven days.

Samrat appealed to the Appellate Division for staying the High Court order.

After hearing the appeal on 23 May, Appellate Division Chamber Judge M Enayetur Rahim sent Samrat's application to the regular bench of the Appellate Division for hearing on May 30 without suspending the High Court order.

On 12 November 2019, ACC Deputy Director Md Jahangir Alam started the case of illegally amassing Tk2.95 crore worth of wealth. Following an investigation, Md Jahangir Alam filed the charge sheet on 26 November 2020.

On 6 October 2019, the Rapid Action Battalion arrested Samrat from Cumilla over his alleged ties with the illegal gambling racket.

The RAB later conducted a raid on Samrat's office in Kakrail's Bhuiyan Trade Centre and recovered a foreign pistol, yaba tablets, bottles of foreign liquor and two kangaroo hides.

A mobile court handed Samrat a six-month prison sentence for possession of the kangaroo skins under the Wild Animal Protection Act and he was later sent to the Dhaka Central Jail in Keraniganj.

Later, two more cases were filed against him under the Narcotics Control Act and Arms Act with the Ramna Police Station.