Casino kingpin Samrat sent back to jail again

Ismail Hossain Chowdhury Samrat, expelled Jubo League leader and casino kingpin, was sent back to jail again by a Dhaka court on Tuesday.

Samrat surrendered to the Dhaka Special Judge Court-6 in a case of acquiring assets beyond his known sources of income. He appealed for bail but was denied that by the court. 

The court set 9 June 2022 for hearing Samrat's latest bail plea.

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

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

He was released on 11 May from the prison cell of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) Hospital after getting bail in all the four cases, but stayed on in the hospital for medical treatment.

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

On 18 May, a two-member High Court bench led by Md Nazrul Islam Talukder cancelled his bail and ordered him to surrender to 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 without suspending the High Court order, for a hearing on 30 May.

On 12 November 2019, ACC Deputy Director Md Jahangir Alam filed a case against Samrat for illegally amassing wealth worth Tk2.95 crore. 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 for his ties to an illegal gambling racket.

RAB 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. He was sent to Dhaka Central Jail in Keraniganj.

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