TDS Desk:

Enayet Karim Chowdhury, a US citizen of Bangladeshi origin, fell sick on the dock of a Dhaka court on Sunday after hearing an order placing him on a four-day remand in a money laundering case involving Tk 11.34 crore.

On-duty policemen and court staff rushed to his aid following a directive from the judge. Shortly afterward, Enayet stood up and told the court he was feeling well.

Judge Sabbir Faiz of the Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge’s Court passed the remand order after Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Deputy Director Md Hafizul Islam, who is investigating the case, sought five days to interrogate him. Enayet was shown arrested in the case following a prosecution application.

In the remand prayer, the investigation officer alleged that Enayet had assisted former inspector general of police (IGP) Benazir Ahmed and his family in laundering over Tk 11 crore.

No defence lawyer was present in court to represent him, said ACC Public Prosecutor Mir Ahmed Ali Salam.

Enayet was initially arrested on September 13 under Section 54 of the Code of Criminal Procedure from Minto Road in Dhaka. He was produced before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court and sent to jail. Later, he was shown arrested in a case filed under the Anti-Terrorism Act.

According to the case statement, “During primary interrogation, Enayet confessed that he came to Bangladesh as an agent of a foreign intelligence agency, with the objective of overthrowing the interim government. This claim was initially supported by data found in the seized mobile phones from his possession.”