| Untold stories by Jalil, Selim, Babar: Khaleda, Hasina under pressure to resign Pressure is mounting on both BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia and Awami League president Sheikh Hasina from inside their own parties to retire from politics following the revealing of sensational information by three high-profile detained politicians and a businessman to the investigators of Task Forces Intelligence (TFI). The investigators have received sensational information about various irregularities and corruption, including extortion by high-ranking leaders of major political parties, killing of people in the name of politics, creating an unstable situation in the country, helping the accused to flee the country in exchange of crores of taka and illegal occupation of lands. Awami League general secretary Abdul Jalil and the party's presidium member Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim have disclosed many unknown information of Awami League's politics. Former state minister for Home Affairs Lutfozzaman Babar has also confessed various incidents of abuse of power. After placing on four-day remand by a court, Abdul Jalil told the investigators that competition for receiving the nominations of Awami League used to be started among millionaire businessmen and rich people with the advent of general elections. It could not be a problem to receive Awami League nominations for those who amassed huge wealth through illegal means. Just before the parliamentary elections, power of some young leaders, including Sheikh Hasina's two cousins-Sheikh Selim and Sheikh Helal-and Obaidul Kader and Jahangir Kabir Nanak was used to increase suddenly. Jalil, who was arrested from Mercantile Bank head office in the city's Motijheel area on Monday last, said Sheikh Hasina holds absolute power inside the party. Her decisions are final. Nobody can utter a single word against her decisions. "Except Motia Chowdhury and Zohra Tajuddin, the number of honest and good people inside the Awami League is much less. Many leaders and workers of the party tarnish the image of the party by indulging in bad activities," he said. He also told the TFI investigators that Awami League President Sheikh Hasina used to take money from several industrialists and businessmen regularly. She used to take amounts ranging between Tk 50 lakh and Tk 1 crore ahead of any agitation programme of the party. The AL leader, who will be produced before the court after his four-day remand will be over today, said Awami League's Religious Affairs Secretary Sheikh Abdullah had a close connection with the detained Harkatul Jihad leader Mufti Hannan. Under the interrogation, Jalil said Hasina used to receive money regularly from Basundhara Group chairman Ahmed Akbar Sobhan Shah Alam, Yusuf Abdullah Harun, Beximco Group's vice-chairman Salman F Rahman, Lotus Kamal, Syed Abul Hossain and Kazi Zafrullah. In receiving the payments, Sheikh Helal, Kazi Zafrullah, Syed Abul Hossain and Obaidul Kader used to assist the party chief. Regarding the tramp-card of April 30 of last year, he said it was announced just to scare the then BNP-led alliance government. However, Proshika authorities planned to assemble thousands of their employees and workers in Dhaka to make the programme of that day a success. On Mercantile Bank, Jalil said he used the party post to get approval of Mercantile Bank. He said he did not invest any money in Mercantile Bank. After getting approval, 29 directors of the bank invested Tk 24 crore. Later, the directors gave him Tk 60 lakh. With the amount, he bought primary shares of the bank. The capital of the bank has now stood at Tk 4,000 crore. Abdul Jalil said Aanbeer, youngest son of Basundhara Group chairman Shah Alam gave him Tk 6 lakh in two separate installments in 2003 and 2004. Jalil said a syndicate was formed at the end of the previous alliance government to increase the prices of essentials. Awami League leaders Haji Selim, Sheikh Helal, Abdul Awal Minto, MA Hashem and Barkatullah Bulu were involved in the syndicate. Haji Selim played the role of increasing the prices of rice, onion and cement, while Hashem played the role of increasing the price of sugar. About the formation of Janatar Mancha in 1996, Jalil said many bureaucrats, who are known as sympathisers of Awami League extended their support to form Janatar Mancha. They included Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir and Shafiur Rahman. Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir also met Hasina before the formation of Janatar Manch. Awami League presidium member and former Health Minister Sheikh Selim also disclosed sensational information to the investigators under interrogation. Selim said he took 550,000 US dollars from the East Coast Group chairman Azam J Chowdhury for construction of Siddhirganj Power Station-2 when Hasina's government was in power. A Russian company got the work of constructing the power plant and East Coast Group was the local agent of the Russian company. He said he had a very close relation with the then Russian Ambassador in Dhaka. He also visited Russia as a member of a parliamentary group. He received 5 million dollars in local currency form 27 million US dollars worth work of the power plant. Later, a portion of the amount was given to Hasina's sister Sheikh Rehana. Besides, he used to receive Tk 3 lakh per month from Basundhara Group. Awami League President Sheikh Hasina also used to take Tk 10 lakh per month from Basundhara Group. Shah Alam's son used to bring the money to handover the amounts to Hasina and Selim. He also disclosed that AL's front organisation Juba League's president Jahangir Kabir Nanak and general secretary Mirza Azam were involved in killing 11 people by setting fire to a double-decker BRTC bus near Dhaka Sheraton Hotel in 2004. Both Nanak and Azam held a meeting at Juba League office in the evening on that day and made a plan to commit the arson. "I protested the incident to our party chief and told her the politics cannot be done in such a way," the investigators said quoted Selim as saying. Sheikh Selim said AL leader Kamal Ahmed Majumder was involved in labour unrests in ready-made garment factories in Dhaka and outskirts of the capital last year. Besides, local Awami League leader Murad Jong acted as the mastermind behind creating unrests at Dhaka EPZ. On the other hand, BNP leader and former state minister Lutfozzaman Babar, who is just an SSC passed, turned into a millionaire overnight from a small trader and developed close relationship with Hawa Bhaban. Babar amassed huge wealth after being elected as an MP receiving nomination from BNP and subsequently turned into a state minister with the important portfolio of Home Ministry. Babar, who was a close associate of Tarique Rahman, eldest son of former prime minister Khaleda Zia, said he used to give lion's share of illegally earned money to Hawa Bhaban. He had to collect money for Hawa Bhaban. Babar said he had received 10 million US dollars from the Dubai-based Warid Telecom for allowing the company to do business in Bangladesh. The amount was given to Khaleda Zia's sons Tarique and Koko. The former state minister said he received Tk 20 crore to exempt Basundhara Group's chairman's son Shafaet Sobhan from the murder case of Basundhara Group's director Humayun Kabir Sabbir who was killed in a residence at Gulshan in July last year and his body was later found in roadside drain. Of the amount, Tk 5 crore was given in cash, while the rest Tk 15 crore through pay orders of banks. The investigators asked Babar how he had got an apartment at Gulshan, 20-25 residential plots at Basundhara, over 100 bighas of land and accumulated millions of taka in banks. Babar said there was a transaction involving 10 million US dollars to allocate BTTB frequency to Warid Telecom. The then chairman of BTRC helped Babar in accelerating the process. Out of the amount, former Bangladesh Cricket Board chairman Ali Asgar Lobi got one million dollar, while Tarique and Koko received nine million dollars. Besides, Babar helped killer Tokai Sagar to escape to the United States. He also suspended the investigations of many killings and the abduction of Chittagong businessman Jamaluddin. http://nation.ittefaq.com/artman/publish/article_36543.shtml |
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