The former Home Minister, Asaduzzaman Khan’s son, Safi Muddasir Khan Jyoti, controlled appointments, transfers, and tender dealings within the Ministry and its subordinate agencies. Jyoti also faced extortion allegations. He played a key role in funneling sacks of money into the minister’s residence, amassing hundreds of crores by abusing his father’s power. Together, the father and son built a massive syndicate that surrounded the Ministry of Home Affairs, which helped them accumulate vast illegal wealth. The syndicate is also reportedly involved in corruption related to the purchase of indelible ink for the 12th national elections.
After being arrested in a case filed in Ashulia Police Station, Jyoti has been placed on remand, where he has been providing explosive information to the police. Sources say that the syndicate’s influence extended beyond the Ministry, with Jyoti exercising near-total control over the Dhanmondi area of Dhaka. Restaurant owners in the area had to pay him extortion money to operate, and restaurant licenses were easily obtained in exchange for large sums of money. In addition to extorting from restaurants, they also collected money from markets like Kawran Bazar, sidewalk vendors, drug dealers, and residential hotels. Monir Hossain, the Minister’s APS, along with two others, was responsible for delivering a large portion of the extorted money to Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, with the son also receiving a share.
It has come to light that during the student-people movement of July-August, former Minister Asaduzzaman Kamal ordered law enforcement to use force to suppress the protests. He even ordered the abduction of six coordinators of an anti-discrimination student movement to render the protests leaderless. Additionally, Asaduzzaman reportedly instructed helicopter shootings to suppress the demonstrations.
Sources reveal that the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has found initial evidence of illegal wealth amassed by Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and his family members. The ACC is preparing to file a case against Kamal, his wife Lutfun Tahmina Khan, his son Jyoti, his daughter Sophia Tasnim Khan, and his private secretary Monir Hossain for corruption and irregularities. A travel ban has already been imposed on them to prevent them from fleeing the country.
Reports indicate that Asaduzzaman Kamal used to receive large sums of money as bribes, collected from police departments, the Department of Narcotics Control, and the Fire Service. A syndicate led by the then-additional secretary Dr. Harunur Rashid Bishwas was formed to facilitate these bribes. Other syndicate members included Joint Secretary Dhananjay Kumar Das, APS Monir Hossain, Public Relations Officer Sharif Mahmud Apu, Administrative Officer Molla Ibrahim Hossain, and Asaduzzaman’s son Jyoti. Dr. Harunur Rashid was instrumental in collecting these bribes, and even after his retirement, Jyoti continued to control the Ministry’s bribery and corruption. To avoid risks, the extorted money was sent abroad.
It is alleged that the father-son syndicate charged between 80 lakh to 2 crore taka for appointing Superintendents of Police (SPs) and extracted one to three crore taka for various police appointments, transfers, and promotions. In 2022, syndicate members reportedly pocketed five crore taka in the appointment of a Metropolitan Police Commissioner. NGOs were also forced to pay between 80 lakh to one crore taka for a “No Objection Certificate” (NOC) from the syndicate.
The ACC has obtained permission to conduct a forensic examination of the official computers used in Asaduzzaman Kamal’s office to gather more corruption data. Sources reveal that on October 2, 2023, the Fire Service and Civil Defense Directorate recruited 535 individuals, including 436 men, 15 women firefighters, and 84 drivers. At the beginning of the recruitment process, a list of 250 people was sent from the Minister’s office to the Fire Service’s Director General, and the Fire Service was compelled to follow the list as per the former Minister’s orders. The syndicate, led by Kamal and Harun, collected 8 to 12 lakh taka per person for these appointments.
According to the police headquarters, hundreds of crores of taka were pocketed through recruitment into the SI and Sergeant positions during the Awami League government. A five-member syndicate led by the former Home Minister was responsible for this massive corruption. A secret report on this recruitment corruption has been submitted to the police headquarters. Candidates were selected based on lists drawn up after taking bribes ranging from 20 to 25 lakh taka per person.
