Staff Reporter :
An inadequate legal framework against gambling across the country is helping more than one hundred offenders to slip through the cracks and evade prosecution amid the ongoing crackdown on illegal casinos in the capital.
In this context, the law-enforcing agencies have not yet given any information on the seized casino equipment, law enforcing agencies official sources said.
Section-92 of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police Ordinance 1976 only stipulates a fine of Tk 100 for gambling in public, according to them.
The poor provisions of laws have prevented the authorities from taking exemplary action against the persons inverted in the gambling, according to law enforcement. They recommended overhauling of the existing legislation on gambling.
The Rapid Action Battalion or RAB raided Young Men’s Club in Fakirapool on September 18 and uncovered illegal casino operations inside the establishment. They arrested Jubo League leader Khaled Mahmud Bhuiyan on charges of running the casino.
The elite police unit also raided Motijheel’s Wanderers Club and Muktijoddha Krira Chakra, the same day before arresting 142 people on gambling charges. They also confiscated a variety of gambling equipment, money and alcohol from these facilities.
Three separate cases were filed against Jubo League leader Khaled under arms, drug and money laundering legislation. A RAB mobile court handed jail sentences ranging from six months to a year to the others. They were penalised for possession and consumption of drugs, said a RAB official on condition of anonymity.
“We have followed the legal process. An executive magistrate led the raid and sealed the clubs. The legal process is still ongoing,” said RAB’s Media Wing Director Sarwar Bin Kashem.
“RAB Executive Magistrate Sarwoer Alam will be able to talk about it,” he said, when asked why the authority did not take any step against the offenders under the Dhaka Metropolitan Police Ordinance.
But Sarwoer could not be reached for comment on the issue.
Motijheel Police Station OC Omar Farook, said, “We sought a court order regarding the confiscated goods and the money from casino clubs. We are yet to receive the directive.”
Multiple cases were filed under drugs and money laundering legislation after the raids by RAB.
The law-enforcing agency has not given any information on the seized casino equipment, said the OC.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police Ordinance has a provision to impose a nominal fine for gambling, said an official of RAB.
The offenders can get bail easily in court if this ordinance is followed to punish them, he said.
Former Inspector General of Police Nur Mohammed also pointed out the loophole in the existing law.
“Dhaka Metropolitan Traffic Police Act has been updated to meet the demands of our time. The section on gambling in the Dhaka Metropolitan Police Ordinance should be overhauled too,” he said.
