State Counsel Omar Faruq Faruqi has alleged that Lt Gen (retd) Masud Uddin Chowdhury was involved in a trafficking syndicate and had harassed businessmen and politicians during the 1/11 caretaker government era.
“The way he was involved in human trafficking activities has no precedent in any country. While holding important responsibilities, he has set a unique precedent by engaging in human trafficking,” Faruqi told the court.
Earlier, a Dhaka court granted a six-day fresh remand for Lieutenant General (retd) Masud Uddin Chowdhury, a former army officer and ex-MP for Feni-3 constituency, in a human trafficking case filed at Palton Police Station.
The order was issued on Sunday by the court of Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Jashita Islam following an application by the investigating officer, who had sought a seven-day remand. Chowdhury had earlier been given a five-day remand on March 24 in the same case.
Faruqi further alleged that Chowdhury provided extensive cooperation to bring the Awami League regime to power and, as a reward, became an MP, conducted business, and received many benefits.
Opposing the remand, defense lawyer Towhidul Islam Sajib argued that Chowdhury, aged 72 and suffering from various ailments, was being repeatedly remanded only to humiliate him.
“There is no specific allegation except his name in the FIR. What did the investigating officer find in the five-day remand? The state side could not clarify that,” Sajib said, adding that multiple accused in the case are already on bail and his client should also be granted bail.
The state counsel countered that the accused demanded and received Tk1.54 crore from the complainant. He claimed that Chowdhury amassed huge amounts through a syndicate in the name of sending people to Malaysia, and that Sheikh Rehana and Sajeeb Wazed Joy were also involved.
According to the case filed by Altab Khan, owner of recruiting agency “Afia Overseas”, a syndicate, established monopolistic dominance over the foreign labor market. Although the government-set migration cost is Tk79,490, the syndicate allegedly extorted an additional Tk1.5 lakh per worker.
The complainant claims Tk12.56 crore was forcibly extorted from him against 841 workers, with an additional business loss of Tk20 crore due to the syndicate’s non-cooperation. The syndicate is alleged to have extorted approximately Tk24 thousand crore from various recruiting agencies.
The investigating officer told the court that Chowdhury had skillfully avoided providing important information during his previous remand, and intensive interrogation was needed to recover the embezzled funds.
