Dhaka, Sept 26 – Lokman Hossain Bhuiyah, director of Mohammedan Sporting Club and director of Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) also has earned crores of taka from the casino. He was arrested yesterday by Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) for renting out the club room.RAB has found the source of illegal money transaction between Mohammedan Sporting Club Director-in-Charge Lokman Hossain Bhuiyan and Jubo League leader AKM Mominul Haque Sayeed.
After preliminary interrogation, Lokman confessed to sending money to Sayeed, confirmed RAB 2 Commanding Officer Lt Col Ashik Billah on a media call at RAB-2 headquarter at Basila in Dhaka.
Ashik Billah said, Lokman rented out the club room to the join secretary of Dhaka Mohanagar Juba League KM Mominul Haque alias Sayeed also councilor of ward no-9 of Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) for casino. Sayeed used to give Tk 70000 to Lokman in each day which in each month becomes Tk 21 lakh.
Sayeed is also the president of Arambagh Krira Sangha. He is also the general secretary of Bangladesh Hokey Federation. Sources of law enforcers said that he is involved with casino business from the earlier.
On the other hand, Lokman once was the central committee member of Bangladesh nationalist party (BNP). However while he selected the member of BCB he was suspended from the party.
RAB said it will bring charges under the narcotics legislation against Mohammedan Sporting Club’s Lokman Hossain Bhuiyan.
Earlier, on September 18 RAB conducted raids on the Young Men’s Club and Wanderer’s Club in Fakirapool, Muktijoddha Sangsad Krira Chakra in Gulistan and Golden Dhaka Club in Banani.
Sayeed was operating the Wanderer’s Club, now sealed for gambling and narcotics, according to RAB. Sayeed fled to Singapore after the RAB operation, said a number of locals citing that he has a chain of casino business in Thailand and Singapore. He is known as ‘Casino Sayeed’ in Fakirapool and Arambagh, they added.
The official of RAB said Lokman earned huge money from the casino business of the club. The members of the governing body are also aware about this renting out of club space. But RAB doesn’t know whether they get their share of the money or not and will investigate on that.
According to Lokman, the RAB official added that he has Tk 41 crore in two Australian banks. He often went to Australia because of his son’s studies in Australia. His money kept in The Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ).
Lokman’s house had been under the surveillance of the elite police force since Wednesday evening. Later, a RAB-2 team raided his home and detained him in for questioning at its office.
‘We found five bottles of foreign liquor kept at his home without a licence. He was arrested on charges of possessing the bottles of alcohol. We are looking into whether there are any other allegations against him,” said Ashik Billah.
Ashik Billah said we were trying to detain him from the very first but he used to avoid and stayed outside district of Dhaka. He was staying in Narayanganj earlier. In a tip off we knew that he came to his Monipuri Para residence (Dhaka’s home) on yesterday.
Lokman, also a director at the Bangladesh Cricket Board, was taken into custody for keeping foreign liquor in his home without proper permit.
His arrest comes three days after a raid by the Dhaka Metropolitan Police shut down illegal gambling operations inside Mohammedan Sporting Club in Motijheel.
Police seized two roulette tables and nine betting boards from the club’s premises as well as walkie-talkies, knives and cash counting machines.
According to media reports, since the raid, Lokman has been claiming that he was forced to rent the club premises for gambling activities following “pressures from politicians.”
The raids were carried out as part of the law enforcement agencies’ ongoing clampdown on illegal gambling establishments and casinos in the capital and elsewhere, which started on September 18.
The law enforcers have arrested several leaders of the ruling Awami League and its youth affiliate Jubo League in the ongoing crackdown. – Staff Reporter
