The rise and fall of Dhaka’s casino kingpin Samrat

The millionaire casino kingpin of Dhaka, Ismail Hossain Chowdhury Samrat, may end up in law enforcement custody soon.

Although both the home minister and the road transport and bridges minister have asked the public to "wait and see" how events turn out, intelligence sources informed The Business Standard that his arrest is imminent.

But who is Samrat, and when did the Dhaka south city unit Jubo League president take control of Dhaka's underworld, earning millions through his control over illegal gambling operations, extortion and tender manipulation.

Starting out as Chhatra League leader in 1990, Samrat's duty back then was to organise protests in different parts of the capital, aimed at ousting HM Ershad from power. He was later jailed and tortured for his role in the movement.

In 1991 Samrat joined the Jubo League, where Nurunnabi Chowdhury Shawon, the then city unit president of the front, played a key-role in his rise to power.

Samrat became an influential leader during the 1996-2001 tenure of the Awami League government, and retained his position as a top leader during the 1/11 changeover.

Later in 2008, when Awami League was voted to power again after the tenure of the caretaker government, Samrat continued his rise through the ranks, ending up as the Dhaka south city unit Jubo League president at its sixth council on July 14, 2012.

According to intelligence sources, a complaint letter was sent to the Prime Minister's Office around two months ago, claiming that extortion, tender manipulation and the drug trade could not be controlled in Dhaka because of Samrat and his cohorts.

Immediate action was sought to that effect.  

That action came earlier this month, when Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) on September 18, raided illegal casinos being run out of sporting clubs in Dhaka.

Samrat is reported to have been the main mastermind of Dhaka's gambling scene, and therefore, a key suspect.

Speaking to The Business Standard, Director of RAB's Legal and Media wing, Lt Col Sarwar Bin Kashem, said that they too are keeping their eyes on Samrat.

"We are collecting evidence against him and he is in our radar," he added.

Earlier, on the night of the initial crackdown, Samrat hid himself in his office at Kakrail's Bhuiyan Mansion. He was initially being guarded by hundreds of Jubo League activists, who had cordoned off the building.  

Later, at around 3-3:30am on September 22, he left his office in a black vehicle, said an official of Dhaka Metropolitan Police's Ramna division.

According to intelligence sources, Samrat then took shelter at an influential politician's residence to delay his arrest as long as possible.  

Since then, the number of people stationed outside his building dramatically decreased.

The few Bangladesh Chhatra League and Jubo League members waiting outside said Samrat had left. "He will be back soon. We will celebrate his return. Nothing will happen to him," said a Jubo League member.

Their celebration may have to wait for quite a while if Samrat is apprehended.