Samrat sentenced to life imprisonment in arms case

Former President of Dhaka South Jubo League, Ismail Hossain Chowdhury Samrat, has been sentenced to life imprisonment for illegally possessing a foreign-made pistol and ammunition.

The verdict was delivered on Tuesday, October 15, by Judge Md Ibrahim Mia of Dhaka’s Second Special Tribunal under the Arms Act.

Court Bench Assistant Shahadat Ali said that since Samrat has been absconding, the verdict was announced in his absence.

This marks the first verdict among several cases filed against Samrat, in which he has received a life sentence.

On September 18, 2019, following a Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) raid in Dhaka’s Motijheel club area that exposed illegal casino operations, Samrat went into hiding. Later, on October 7, he and his associate Enamul Haque Arman were arrested by RAB from Chauddagram in Cumilla.

That same afternoon, RAB conducted a raid at Samrat’s office in Bhuiyan Trade Centre, Kakrail, where they claimed to have recovered a foreign-made pistol with ammunition, 1,160 yaba tablets, 19 bottles of foreign liquor, two kangaroo skins, and electric torture equipment.

For possessing kangaroo skins, a mobile court sentenced Samrat to six months in prison under the Wildlife Conservation Act. Subsequently, RAB filed two cases with Ramna Police Station — one under the Arms Act and another under the Narcotics Control Act.

On November 6, 2020, RAB-1 Sub-Inspector Shekhar Chandra Mallik submitted the charge sheet in the arms case to the court, followed by the narcotics case on December 9 of the same year.

The trial in the arms case began on January 16 this year after charges were framed, and a warrant was issued for Samrat’s arrest following the cancellation of his bail. As he remained absconding, the proceedings continued in his absence.

Out of 14 witnesses, 10 testified during the trial. Following the conclusion of arguments on October 7, the verdict was delivered today.

In a separate case, charges were framed against Samrat on July 17 this year for illegally amassing wealth. Additionally, a court has revoked his bail and issued an arrest warrant in a money laundering case involving Tk195 crore.