Just vanished
Poof and he vanished. The man who enjoyed so much power and amassed so much illegal wealth during the BNP-Jamaat rule between 2001 and 2006.
And for eight years there has been no trace of Harris Chowdhury, political secretary to then prime minister Khaleda Zia and joint secretary general of the BNP.
Neither law enforcers nor his party men have any clue where the convict is. Some speculate he is hiding in India while others believe he has left India for a third country, probably a European one.
According to multiple sources in the police and intelligence agencies, Harris fled to Karimganj of Indian Assam state soon after the military-backed government took over on January 11, 2007, after months of violence centring parliamentary elections.
"Harris has some relatives in Karimganj and hid there until Awami League returned to power in 2009," said an intelligence agency official wishing anonymity.
"But Harris did not feel safe there and might have travelled to a European country," said the official, who recently went to Karimganj, Shilchar and Shillong of India for intelligence gathering.
It is said that he went to England, where he had smuggled some of his illegally earned money.
A former Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal leader, who had close links with Harris between 2001 and 2006, claimed that Harris had no contact with the party for a long time but he maintained communication with his family members.
"We came to know that Harris was sick and his relatives, including his brother, visited him when he was in India," said the leader.
There was even a rumour that Harris had died, but it could not be confirmed.
Joint Secretary General of BNP Rizvi Ahmed said, "We have no information about him but we have heard he is abroad."
Superintendent of Police (SP) Joydev Kumar Bhadra of Habiganj said they knew nothing about Harris. Courts had issued arrest warrants for him and asked the police to produce him before it.
Harris is among nine others who were accused in a supplementary charge sheet in the Awami League leader and former finance minister AMS Kibria murder case yesterday. Kibria was killed in a grenade attack during a rally at Baidyer Bazar in Habiganj on January 27, 2005.
The BNP leader, who bought fancy flats, cars and stashed away a large amount of money, was sentenced to different jail terms for corruption, money-laundering and keeping wildlife at home.
In a corruption case filed by the anti-corruption commission, he was jailed for 69 years.
Also an accused in the August 21 grenade attack case, Harris was just an ordinary car dealer but became a multi-millionaire in just five years through corruption and abuse of power. He made huge wealth illegally at home and abroad by helping dodgy contractors win government and private businesses.
Harris is also an accused in the Zia Charitable Trust graft case.
He started his political career in BNP by joining the party's youth front Jubo Dal during late president Ziaur Rahman's regime. He was the joint secretary general of BNP until 2009.
When Hawa Bhaban, the alternative power house of then BNP-Jamaat government, was set up in 2000, Harris was deputed there for "raising funds" for prospective election candidates of 2001.
With election money bloating his personal account, Harris moved out of his humble Shanti Nagar home into a house in posh DOHS area of the capital.
Before making his disappearing act, he stayed at a Gulshan house.
By the time the BNP-Jamaat coalition won the election in 2001, Harris became very close to BNP chief Khaleda Zia. He was appointed the political secretary to the prime minister with the rank and status of a state minister.
Investigators in 2008 found that Harris had 25 accounts with different banks. Most of those were in the names of his wife, brother, sister-in-law, sister and her son, and his former assistant.
With the exception of the bank account with the PMO branch of Sonali Bank, all other accounts were used for stashing money gained from illegal sources.
They detected that cash and properties of Harris, under other people's name in the country, was worth Tk 22.5 crore. Besides those, Harris had a house and a shopping arcade in London under different people's names.
Harris Chowdhury, former premier Khaleda Zia's political secretary, and Sylhet Mayor Ariful Haque Chowdhury have been charged with the 2005 murder of f ........
http://thedailystar.net/harris-among-9-new-accused-50286
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http://dailyalochona.blogspot.com/2012/10/mukto-mona-bnp-stalwart-harris-chodhury.html
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