Staff Reporter:
A Dhaka court on Saturday placed former member of parliament Lt Gen (retd) Masud Uddin Chowdhury on a fresh three-day remand in a case filed over allegations of human trafficking and extortion.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Didarul Alam passed the order following a petition for a four-day remand filed by Sub-Inspector Md Raihanur Rahman of the Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police.
Around 3:40pm, Masud was produced before the court amid tight security.
During the hearing, state counsel Sayed Golam Mortoza Ibne Islam argued in favour of the remand, while defence lawyer Touhidul Islam Sojib sought its cancellation.
After hearing both sides, the court granted a three-day remand.
According to the remand petition, although important information was obtained during the previous remand, investigators could not gather all the necessary details for the case. Therefore, further interrogation on remand is essential for the investigation.
Masud Uddin Chowdhury, a widely discussed key figure of the ‘1/11 government’, was placed on a five-day remand in a human trafficking case on 24 March following his arrest. He was later placed on a further six-day remand on 29 March in the same case.
Masud, who also served as the principal staff officer of the Bangladesh Armed Forces, is facing at least 11 cases, including charges of murder, attempted murder, and human trafficking.
On 3 September 2024, Altab Khan, proprietor of Afia Overseas, filed a case with Paltan Police Station in the capital.
The case named over 100 accused, including Masud, former expatriates’ welfare and overseas employment minister Imran Ahmad, and former senior secretary of the ministry Ahmed Munirus Saleheen.
According to the case statement, a syndicate exploited over 2,000 recruiting agents, forced the plaintiff to pay extra fees for 841 workers, and embezzled around Tk24,000 crore from various businesses.
