MEMBERS of Rapid Action Battalion on Tuesday recovered Tk 26.55 crore in cash and fixed deposit receipts worth Tk 5.15 crore from the flat of two ruling party men Enamul Haque Enu and Rupon Bhuiyan who were earlier detained for their involvement in the illegal casino business. A good amount of foreign currencies, gold and other illegal things were also recovered during the raid. The recent burst of different illegal activities run by ruling party leaders, also ringleaders of drug, sex trade, and gambling, is believed to be just the tip of the iceberg. It is alleged that ministers, marginal leaders, bureaucrats and law enforcers are all allegedly involved with the unlawful activities and also the beneficiary of corrupt practices. The government seems largely dependent on the criminals and bank looters for getting some advantages when the country’s economy is on the verge of collapse. What has been recovered by the RAB is “nothing less than a bank of their own”.
The casino brothers, former vice-president and joint general secretary of Gendaria unit of Awami League respectively, were active in the party’s activities, nurturing political musclemen, with their illegal income. The politics of “terror”, where there is no existence of democratic value and people’s participation, is the prime cause of the mushrooming of such crime syndicates. As the electoral system evaporated, the government has become unaccountable to the parliament, making social and political dynamics unstable. Earlier on September 24, RAB conducted a drive in another house owned by the said brothers of the capital’s Gendaria and arrested one of their staffers. Later, the elite force also conducted a drive in one of their friend’s houses and recovered Tk five crore in cash, eight kgs of gold and six firearms. The duo went into hiding after law enforcers launched the crackdown on illegal casinos, bars, and spas last year. But they were finally arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department of police on January 13 this year at a flat in Keraniganj, where they had been living after failing to flee the country with forged passports.
We’re stunned — if two lower-tier ruling party leaders could obtain such an unbelievable amount of cash and other valuables, then what might be the condition of the top ranking leaders!
