Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal served as Home Minister for over a decade. During his second term, his son Shafi Mudassir Khan Jyoti emerged as a “shadow minister.” Jyoti himself was a known criminal. The ruling Awami League had effectively institutionalized a second generation of “monster squads,” bringing in the sons of party leaders—not as politicians, but as violent mafia figures. These second-generation Awami monsters were aggressive, brutal, and oppressive. They didn’t love the people—they terrorized them.
Jyoti led this group, which included Gazi Golam Murtaza Pappu (son of Gazi Golam Dastagir), Shamim Osman, Nizam Hazari, and the son of Haji Selim. Acting under Jyoti’s command, Awami League thugs built extortion networks, harassed businesses and industrial groups, seized land, and extorted large sums of money from top business entities. False cases were filed against those who refused to pay.
Bashundhara Media Group was the first to expose these crimes, and in turn became a target of Jyoti’s gang. Since 2015, Bashundhara has faced repeated lawsuits—under the Digital Security Act, fabricated murder charges, and other false accusations. The aim was always the same: extortion through harassment.
Jyoti and Pappu's gang were also involved in narcotics, violence, and various criminal activities. They even threatened Bashundhara Group’s top officials with enforced disappearance and secret detentions. Beyond extortion and violence, Jyoti controlled appointments, transfers, and tender manipulation within the Ministry of Home Affairs and its affiliated agencies.
Sacks of cash would arrive at the minister’s residence—facilitated by Jyoti. Using his father’s power, he embezzled hundreds of crores of taka. Together, father and son built a powerful syndicate centered on the ministry, through which they amassed enormous illicit wealth.
This same syndicate has been implicated in widespread corruption in the procurement of indelible ink for the 12th national elections. Jyoti was recently arrested and is reportedly providing explosive information to police during his remand.
Sources reveal the syndicate’s dominance extended beyond the ministry. Jyoti controlled Dhaka’s Dhanmondi area with an iron grip. Anyone wanting to open a restaurant had to pay him large sums to obtain a license. Daily extortion occurred in Karwan Bazar from street vendors, markets, drug dealers, and hotels. Minister Kamal’s APS Monir Hossain and two others were responsible for delivering the collected money—most of which went to Kamal, with Jyoti taking a substantial share.
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has found preliminary evidence of massive illegal wealth amassed by Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and his family. ACC has filed cases against Kamal, his wife Lutfun Tahmina Khan, son Jyoti, daughter Sofia Tasnim Khan, and APS Monir Hossain.
Kamal allegedly took bribes by the sack from the police, narcotics department, and fire services. He built a syndicate led by then Additional Secretary Dr. Harun-or-Rashid Biswas, with members including Joint Secretary Dhananjay Kumar Das, APS Monir Hossain, PRO Sharif Mahmud Apu, Admin Officer Molla Ibrahim Hossain, and Jyoti himself. Dr. Harun played the central role in collecting bribes.
Even after Harun’s retirement, Jyoti continued to control all ministry-related corruption. To avoid risk, the bribe money was often sent abroad. It is alleged that the Kamal syndicate demanded Tk 80 lakh to Tk 2 crore for SP (Superintendent of Police) appointments, and Tk 1–3 crore for police recruitment, postings, and promotions. In 2022, they reportedly collected Tk 5 crore for appointing a metropolitan police commissioner.
Additionally, NGOs had to pay Tk 80 lakh to Tk 1 crore for a No Objection Certificate (NOC). The Fire Service was instructed to hire 250 individuals from a list sent by the minister’s office, charging Tk 8–12 lakh per appointment.
According to police headquarters, over Tk 100 crore was embezzled through SI and sergeant recruitment under the Awami League regime. A secret report has been submitted to headquarters, stating that candidates paid Tk 20–25 lakh each to be included in a preferred recruitment list. Jyoti played a key role in this and established a second-generation network of corrupt officials nationwide to facilitate and expand their operations.
Though Jyoti has been arrested, most of his associates remain at large. The ACC has found evidence of over Tk 100 crore in assets in Kamal and his family’s names, including bank accounts, flats, and land in Dhaka. APS Monir was also found with assets worth nearly Tk 20 crore.
The ACC has also uncovered over Tk 200 crore in suspected money laundering by the five-member syndicate. In total, over Tk 300 crore in corruption has been discovered so far. According to a senior ACC official, even more assets and laundered funds are likely to surface.
Bd-pratidin English/TR
