Kuwait Prosecution Dept summons Kazi Papul’s brother over human trafficking allegations
According to the information, Badrul was an associate of the main defendant [Papul], his wife and others in human trafficking operations involving thousands of their compatriots desiring to travel to Kuwait
The Kuwait Prosecution Department on Monday summoned MP Papul's younger brother, Kazi Mohammed Badrul Alam alias Liton Chowdhury, to court over human trafficking allegations.
Citing the Arabic daily Al-Rai, Kuwait Times said Kazi Badrul, younger brother of Papul, was ordered to be summoned after the investigation department received new information, reports Bangla Tribune.
According to the information, Badrul was an associate of the main defendant [Papul], his wife and others in human trafficking operations involving thousands of their compatriots desiring to travel to Kuwait.
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Meanwhile, two Kuwaiti lawmakers ─ Saadoun Hammad and Salah Khorsheed, who were arrested on charges of taking bribes from Papul, were granted bail on Saturday reports Dhaka Tribune.
Both the MPs refused allegations of power abuse against them and denied knowing the Bangladeshi lawmaker or having any link with him.
They also told the court that Papul mentioned their names only to muddy the case, reports Dhaka Tribune.
The name of Papul's younger brother came out in a confessional statement in a trafficking case.
According to the statement made under section 164 of the Penal Code, Liton Chowdhury trafficked around 1,574 Bangladeshis to oil-rich Kuwait by his recruiting agency named Job Bank International.
Earlier on Friday, a source at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), on condition of anonymity, told The Business Standard that they were looking for Liton Chowdhury.
"As he has been named in the confessional statement, we will bring him to book for sure," the official added.
According to media reports, Papul was arrested in Kuwait on June 6 on charges of human trafficking and money laundering. Later, he gave striking admissions over human trafficking, money laundering and giving bribes to Kuwait lawmakers, which stirred both the Kuwaiti and Bangladeshi political arenas.
After being deported to Bangladesh, a victim of Papul's deception sued the lawmaker and his associates in Bangladesh, and the CID is now investigating the case. Liton Chowdhury's accountant Md Golam Mostafa got arrested in the case and gave a confessional statement before court on August 24.
Referring to the confessional statement, court sources said Papul and Liton Chowdhury used to jointly run the agency in Dhaka's Moghbazar area, which was found shuttered on Friday.
The accountant also confessed that Liton Chowdhury instructed him to lure people from several regions of the country to send them abroad.
