Trial to begin in graft case against expelled Jubo League leader Samrat

A Dhaka court has ordered the trial to begin against expelled Jubo League leader Ismail Hossain Chowdhury Samrat in a corruption case over illegal wealth, and issued an arrest warrant after he failed to appear in court.

Judge Zakaria Hossain of Dhaka Special Judge’s Court issued the order on Thursday, turning down a bail plea and directing his arrest.

The court was scheduled to frame charges in the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) case on Thursday.

His lawyer Afroza Shahnaz Parvin Hira submitted a petition citing illness and sought an adjournment, while the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) requested the court to proceed with framing charges.

After the hearing, the court indicted Samrat, revoked his bail, and issued the arrest warrant. The court fixed Aug 17 as the date to begin recording witness testimony.

Earlier this year, on Jan 25, a separate Dhaka court framed charges against Samrat in an arms case and also issued an arrest warrant.

The case dates back to Nov 12, 2019, when ACC Deputy Director Md Jahangir Alam prosecuted Samrat, accusing him of amassing Tk 29.48 million in illegal assets.

The same official later investigated the case and submitted a chargesheet on Nov 26, 2020.

Samrat, once a prominent figure in the Dhaka South Jubo League, went into hiding after a Sep 18, 2019 raid by the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) near the capital’s Motijheel club revealed illegal casino operations.

He was arrested on Oct 7, 2019 along with associate Enamul Haque Arman from Chauddagram in Cumilla. That afternoon, RAB took Samrat to his Kakrail office at Bhuiyan Trade Centre for a raid.

After nearly five hours, the RAB said it recovered a foreign pistol with bullets, 1,160 yaba pills, 19 bottles of foreign liquor, two kangaroo hides, and an electric torture device.

The kangaroo skins led to Samrat being summarily sentenced to six months in jail by a mobile court under the Wildlife (Conservation) Act.

Separate cases under the Narcotics Control Act and the Arms Act were also filed at Ramna Police Station.

After being held in jail for 31 months, Samrat was granted bail in all four cases between Apr 10 and May 11, 2022, and was released.

On Oct 22, 2022, his legal team applied for permanent bail in the ACC case, which the commission opposed.

On Jun 1, 2023, after hearing both sides, the court allowed Samrat to travel abroad for a month and extended his bail until Jul 6. Since then, the court has repeatedly extended his bail term.