Premises of the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) court turn into a safe haven for criminals, drug traders and floating sex-workers after dusk everyday.
Law enforcers remain silent spectators allegedly giving opportunity to the anti-social elements in exchange of money, sources said.
The people passing the area often become the victims of muggers and other anti-social elements. The muggers stab the pedestrians and loot their valuables and later take shelter on the court premises under the very nose of police, many alleged.
The drug addicts frequent the court premises for drugs which are easily available there.
Floating prostitutes prowling in and around the CMM court building are another nuisance pestering the passers-by.
When asked about the matter, a deputy commissioner of DMP also spokesman of the commissioner Moniruzzaman said “I am not aware of it. Now I will ask the concerned police station to take legal action against criminal and anti-social activities.”
However, the deputy Commissioner said all concerned working on the court premises could take the initiative to free the place from the bad elements.
While visiting the place recently, this correspondent found drug traders selling heroin, phensidyl bottles, drugs for pushing into the body and cannabis in and around the court premises under the very nose of police.
A floating prostitute Sabina said, “I take from each customer Taka 500 of which I pay Tk 100 to police and Tk 100 to the local musclemen, for my business.”
“If I fail to catch any customer I am to satisfy police and the terrors with sex,” she said. Instantly, another sex-worker came to spot and asked this correspondent to leave the place at once.
A local said a large number of prostitutes are engaged in their work in and around the court building following their eviction from the brothels in Narayanganj and in the capital.
Another source said, the police are patronising the criminals in exchange for money on daily basis. The criminals and the police patronising them are very much known to every trader and businessman in the area.
Anybody willing to do business here will have to pay daily or monthly basis token money to the police and the terrorists, he added.
Sabbir, relative of a convict said few days ago “I went to the CMM court premises for my brother as my brother was a convicted for a criminal case.”
“I was looking for lawyer in the premises and asked a man for a lawyer. He said that he knows a lawyer. And I was following him” he added.
He also said “the man carry me in a restaurant into the court premises and met with a man and told me that he is a lawyer. Then I told the whole matter to the lawyer.
Sabbir said the lawyer demanded Tk 20,000 for the case as he will arrange bail for my brother.
After that I give him Tk 5,000 on the spot, he told me to come tomorrow on the court and give me a number for contact.
Next day I went to the court premises and looking for the lawyer and trying to call him but the number was closed. Whole day I was stayed at court but I could not manage to catch him. Then I realise that he was a tout.
Like Sabbir, almost regularly many people fall victim to tout and cheating, most of the incident remain unknown.
While visiting the court premises found thousands of people were roaming at the area including lawyer, police, convicts and the relatives of convicts.
There are no checkpoints in the entrances to the court area. Anyone with anything can get inside the court premises without the slightest interruption.
While asking about the security measure taken of the court premises, a police officer at the court premises said, “We do not have any checkposts to search the visitors. But when we find somebody suspicious, only then we search them manually to make sure that he is not a threat to the security of others.”
Dhaka Bar Association Assistant General Secretary Advocate Aminur Rahman Khan told to the daily sun that we have a committee to find out touts in the court premises.
“If anyone informed us about any matter of cheating or touting which related to the court, we scrutinise the matter and took action.” He added.
He also said few days ago we caught a tout, we scrutinise the incident and send the tout to police.
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