DSCC councillor Manju on 10-day remand

A Dhaka court today placed Mainul Haque Manju, a ward councillor of Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC), on a 10-day remand in two separate cases for his possession of illegal firearms and drugs.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Dhiman Chandra Mondol passed the order after Sub-Inspector Harun-Or-Rashid produced Manju before the court seeking a seven-day remand prayer in each case.

The court also granted a five-day remand to Manju's driver Sajjad Hossain in the drug case after police produced him before it with a seven-day remand prayer.

Rab filed two cases against Manju with Wari Police Station under the Arms Act and the Narcotics Control Act last night.

Yesterday, the members of the elite force arrested Manju, councillor of ward-39, in a case filed on October 30 over demanding Tk 2 lakh from a trader at the capital’s Rajdhani Super Market. The councillor had long been running an extortion racket in the area, according to Rab.

He amassed crores of taka from extortion, grabbing properties of others, and expanding his activities. Rab said he used to send the money to his family in the USA through Hundi (an illegal non-banking channel).

Rab said they found two firearms, some bottles of liquor, a stash of cannabis, and a large amount of sex stimulating pills in the ward councillor’s office. His office is in the same building in which a Rab-3 office is located.

The councillor could not show any valid documents of the firearms, said the Rab official.

Today, police however mentioned the court that Rab found one foreign made pistol and one toy pistol made of steel.

With Manju, law enforcers have so far arrested three ward councillors in Dhaka since the beginning of the ongoing crackdown on corruption and illegal casinos.

Locals said Manju was elected councillor of the ward twice before.

In 2015, shop owners of the market filed a complaint against Manju with the home ministry, but no action was taken.

Rab also raided his house “Globe Nibas” nearby and recovered some liquor.

Manju used to live in a duplex flat on the four-storey building. 

Some neighbours alleged that Mainul initially bought the flat, but gradually grabbed the whole building using his influence.