Casino kingpins Samrat, Shamim at leisure in BSMMU cabins

GK Shamim and Ismail Hossain Chowdhury SamratFile Photo

Expelled Jubo League president Ismail Hossain Chowdhury Samrat and contractor GK Shamim, who were arrested on charges of operating illegal casino business, have been at leisure for months in cabins of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU).

The jail authorities, however, have requested the BSMMU authorities five times to send them back to jail after treatment.

BSMMU director brigadier general Zulfikar Ahmed said they were admitted following court orders. Now the physicians can release them, he added.

Contractor GK Shamim has been in jail since 5 April 2019. He has been staying in the hospital for the last two months. Sources said there had been lobbying from a high level to send him to hospital.

On 24 November 2019, the physician at the Kasimpur jail allowed Samrat to admit to BSMMU saying about his chest pain.

Speaking to Prothom Alo, BSMMU cardiology department chairman Chowdhury Meskat Ahmed said Samrat could not be released due to his irregular heartbeats.

Earlier, one day into his jail on 6 October, Samrat was sent to National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases. He was sent back to the jail after one week after this move was strongly criticised

Dhaka South unit Jubo League president Ismail Hossain alias Samrat was detained from Chauddagram of Cumilla on 6 October 2019.

Cases were filed against him, one under the firearms act and another under the narcotics control act. The Anti-Corruption Commission also filed a case against him for amassing wealth from undeclared sources.

Contractor GK Shamim has been in jail since 5 April 2019. He has been staying in the hospital for the last two months. Sources said there had been lobbying from a high level to send him to hospital.

Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested him from his Gulshan residence on 20 September 2019. A number of criminal cases were filed against him.

Mahmudul Hasan, physician at the jail hospital said a metal plate had been placed in his injured right arm. He was sent to the orthopedic department of BSMMU for pain treatment, he added.

Orthopedic department chairman Abu Zafar Chowdhury said, “We have arranged a surgery on his arm, but he is unwilling to undergo surgery.”

This story, published in Prothom Alo Bangla online, has been rewritten in English by Rabiul Islam.