‘Human trafficker in guise of top industrialist’

RAB arrested Sheikh Aminur Rahman alias Himu on charges of human trafficking on Wednesday afternoon.
RAB arrested Sheikh Aminur Rahman alias Himu on charges of human trafficking on Wednesday afternoon. Photo: Prothom Alo

Sheikh Aminur Rahman alias Himu, who sought MP nomination from the ruling Awami League in the last general election, has been recently arrested on charges of trafficking persons to Brunei.

He sought nomination from the Narail-2 constituency (Lohagora upazila and Narial sadar) in the election held in November 2018.

The people in his locality are now taken aback as he has been identified as a human trafficker. During the election, Sheikh Aminur Rahman alias Himu introduced himself as a ‘top industrialist’.

Himu, however, was not familiar in the locality.

He launched his electioneering in the constituency, but failed to get the nomination.

Himu came into limelight again after members of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested him on Wednesday afternoon.

The people in his locality are now taken aback as he has been identified as a human trafficker. During the election, Sheikh Aminur Rahman alias Himu introduced himself as a ‘top industrialist’.

At the press conference on Wednesday afternoon, RAB said he also identified himself an as MP on different occasions although he failed to secure nomination.

Speaking to Prothom Alo Thursday night, Lohagora upazila Awami League president Munshi Alauddin said Himu is no one in Awami League. Himu has tarnished the image of the party, he added.

Himu’s home is in Ishangati village of Lohagora upazila. Senior residents of the locality said his father was a farmer. They sold their property and migrated to Daulatpur in Khulna 60 years ago. Later the family migrated to Dhaka.

Himu was in Italy for several years when he was young. He went to Narail a year before the election.

Awami League leaders and activists said he donated funds to organise social, cultural and religious functions before the election. He introduced himself as managing director of Suraiya Group. He would claim he has an import-export business. He has business stakes in Indonesia and Singapore.

Meanwhile, RAB has filed two cases against him on charges of human trafficking and fraudulence with Kafrul police station.

Speaking to Prothom Alo, Kafrul police station officer-in-charge Md Selimuzzaman said they will interrogate Himu to find out who else are involved in human trafficking.

The OC said they have are looking for Mehedi Hasan alias Bijon, a ring leader of human trafficking.

RAB disclosed he took Tk 30 million from 60 people promising to give them jobs in Brunei.

Assistant superintendent of police of RAB-3, Bina Rani Das, said Mehedi and Himu purportedly opened a firm in Brunei. The victims cheated by them made these allegations to RAB. As the allegations proved to be true, RAB launched a drive to nab them.

The RAB official said Mehedi lived in Brunei. He has become millionaire through human trafficking.

A total of 19 cases have been filed against him on charges of various complaints including human trafficking.

Another accomplice of Mehedi, Abdullah Al Mamun, faces charges of rape in Brunei. Mehedi, Abdullah, Noor Alam, Bablu Rahman and Himu formed a Brunei-based trafficking gang. Of them, Himu, Bablu and Noor have been arrested. This gang collected Tk 330 million from 460 people promising to send them to Brunei. Of them, 60 migrant workers were able to go to Brunei but they did not get any jobs there.

These traffickers opened so-called firms, and used fake projects to arrange for visas.