Minister requests police to help gold smuggler

A gold smuggling ringleader beat up a youth, who is claimed to be a gold carrier, at Saturia police station in Manikganj.

But the district police said the youth was picked up at the request of a Very Important Person (VIP). They, however, were completely unaware that the VIP phoned them to help a gold smuggler.       

Police didn’t disclose the name of the VIP.

But the name was revealed in the investigation of Prothom Alo. It was the parliamentarian of Moulvibazar-1 constituency, Md Shahab Uddin, also the minister for environment, forest and climate change. The gold smuggler, Sultan Mia, who tortured the youth in the police station, is also a resident of Moulvibazar.

When asked about the issue, the minister said “Sultan is a resident of my locality. He moves visits Dubai frequently. He complained to me that his gold was stolen. So I requested the police to investigate the matter. But I didn’t ask them to make him officer-in-charge of the police station.”

The minister said he didn’t know that he (Sultan) was involved in gold smuggling. Sultan told him that the gold was legal as it was brought to the country paying tariffs.  

However, an assistant deputy inspector and an inspector of the police station were suspended and transferred respectively for their alleged involvement in this incident that took place in August last year. At that time, Manikganj district police came to know that Sultan Mia is a gold smuggler -- who sends gold illegally to the country from Dubai.       

A source concerned said Sultan was arrested in a case filed over gold smuggling with the airport police station. However, it couldn’t be known whether he is in prison or on bail now.

A source of Manikganj district police said they did not expect that a minister would request them to retrieve an illegal gold consignment. The VIP didn’t file any case in this incident even after he was requested by police after recovering the gold.

When asked about the issue, Manikganj district police superintendent (SP) Mohammad Golam Azad Khan on Wednesday told Prothom Alo that "A VIP requested me saying that gold ornaments were sent from Dubai for the wedding of one of his relatives. But the man who carried the gold to the country didn’t hand it over to them. The accused is a resident of Manikganj. Later, I detained the accused and recovered the gold ornaments."

Not only did police pick him up, but handed him over to a gold smuggler who tortured him mercilessly at the police station. Prothom Alo received a video that was filmed during the torture.

In the video, it was seen that a youth was standing in front of the inspector's table. Sultan Mia, sitting on the chair of the inspector, was threatening the man. All of a sudden, a police member slapped the youth.  Then Sultan got up from the chair and started punching and kicking the man.

The youth was identified as Nazmul Hasan, 30, who carried the gold consignment of Sultan Mia to the country illegally. He, a resident of Tilli village of Saturia in Manikganj, went to Dubai in April last year, spending Tk 400,000.

Having failed to get a job there, he returned to the nation four months later in August. Sultan Mia booked an air ticket for him. In exchange for that he had to carry two gold bars and nine bangles given by Sultan.

But returning to the country, Nazmul didn’t hand over the gold ornaments to the relatives of Sultan. Then police started making a dash to recover the gold owned by Sultan.

The police member who tortured him was identified as Tareq Aziz. He was suspended a few months later as the incident came to the fore while inspector Mohabbat Ali was transferred to Kishoreganj.        

It was seen on another video of the incident that money was transacted in the room of Saturia police station officer-in-charge with the presence of other police officials and the Awami-League (AL) leaders.

Nazmul and his relatives said they settled the matter in the police station for Tk 120,000. Of the amount, Nazmul paid Tk 600,000 while a person named Amir, an manpower supply agent, gave the rest. Nazmul said he went to Dubai through Amir.   

Former inspector general of police (IGP) Nur Mohammad criticised the role of police in this incident. He told Prothom Alo that those police officers have misused the power for their personal gain. It is necessary to take legal action against them for the sake of discipline in the police.