Gaan Bangla chairman Tapos barred from leaving country
A court has imposed a travel ban on musician and Chairman of the private television channel Gaan Bangla, Kaushik Hossain Tapos. The court has also ordered the submission of income tax records in the names of Kaushik Hossain Tapos, his wife Farzana Munni alias Farzana Arman, and their children.
The order was issued today, Thursday, by Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge Sabbir Fayez following a petition filed by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). CID Sub-Inspector Mehdi Hasan submitted the application seeking the travel ban.
According to the application, Kaushik Hossain Tapos is accused in an attempted murder case filed at Uttara East Police Station in the capital. During the investigation of that case, preliminary evidence of money laundering involving him has emerged.
The inquiry into the money laundering allegations is ongoing, and evidence is being collected. The CID stated that there is a risk of him absconding if he travels abroad, making it necessary to prevent his departure from the country.
CID Sub-Inspector Mehdi Hasan also filed a separate application seeking an order to obtain the income tax records of Kaushik Hossain Tapos and his wife and children.
The application stated that an investigating officer has been appointed under the Money Laundering Prevention Act to probe allegations that Tapos acquired assets beyond known sources of income.
As part of the investigation, letters were sent to various relevant offices to collect information about his movable and immovable assets. While responses have been received from most offices, income tax records in the names of Tapos and his wife and children have not yet been obtained. For the sake of the investigation, it is necessary to review those tax records.
Kaushik Hossain Tapos was detained on 3 November, 2024. He was later shown arrested in several murder cases related to the July mass uprising. After spending more than seven months in prison, he was released on bail in June last year.