Biman executive quits amid DB listing of suspects in gold smuggling

FE Report
Deputy Chief of training of the national flag-carrier Bangladesh Biman has resigned from the senior executive post on personal grounds, competent sources said.
Capt Shamim Nazrul's name came on the list of the accused made by the DB police in connection with the recent gold-smuggling scam, the sources said.
The listing out of the suspects is being done as per the confessional statements of the arrested members of the racket which has nexus with some Biman officials and others.
Earlier on November 19, the Detective Branch (DB) of police conducted drives in the capital's Uttara and Bashundhara areas and arrested five in the wake of frequent gold smuggling through Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka.
The top-ranking arrested Biman officials are chief of planning and scheduling Capt Abu Mohammad Aslam Shaheed, deputy general manager (flight services) Emdad Hossain  and manager (scheduling) Tozammel Hossain.
The other arrestees are Mahmudul Haque Palash, an influential Biman contractor close to many Biman high-ups, and Harunur Rashid, the owner of 'Farhan Money', a money-exchange agency in Uttara.
All the arrested persons gave confessional statement on their involvement in gold smuggling on 24 November in the court. Besides, they described the roles of various Biman officials during the crimes.
Biman's director (Admin) Rajpati Sarker said he received the resignation letter of Shamim Nazrul Thursday and instructed the training division to take necessary action.
"Shamim Nazrul has resigned from the chief executive post of training division of Biman," he added.  
Police and other sources in Biman said Palash is the kingpin of the five arrestees who used to identify himself as the 'godson' of the chairman of Biman. Palash mentioned Shamim's name as one of the main abettors in gold smuggling.
The DB police tried to arrest Shamim during their drive to track down the gold- smuggling syndicate. He was staying abroad at the time.
Recently, he came back and resigned, denying all the allegations brought against him. "It's all but an outcome of personal animosity," he said.
Shamim will stay in the captain post once his resignation is accepted.
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