Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) has arrested 9 people from Kamlapur and Sabuj Bagh areas of the capital on charges of black marketing of train tickets. Among them, four employees work with Sohoz.com, which has a contract with the railways. Server operator Newton Biswas (40) is the mastermind. Three other employees are also from of the same company. They are: Mizan Dhali (40), Sohail Dhali (30) and Sabur Howladar (40)
The other arrested persons are – Md. Suman (39), Md. Jahangir Alam (49), Md. Shahjalal Hossain (42), Md. Russell (24), Md. Zainal Abedin (46) and Newton Biswas (40).
RAB and National Security Intelligence (NSI) jointly arrested them in raids from Kamlapur and Sabuj Bagh areas of the capital.
Evidence of black marketing and a large number of illegally collected and stored train tickets were seized from them. A huge amount of train tickets from different parts of the country, 8 mobile phones, an NID, a driving license, various signs of black market and cash of ticket sales of Tk 11 thousand 422 were seized.
In a press conference organized at RAB Media Center in Karwan Bazaar on Friday (March 22), Commander Khandaker Al Moin, director of RAB’s Legal and Media Wing, said that they were arrested by RAB-3 on the basis of intelligence information on Thursday, March 21, at night in Kamlapur and Sabuj Bagh areas of the capital.
Commander Khandaker Al Moin said, especially on the occasion of special holidays including Eid, Puja, and weekends, the arrested Mizan and Sohail used to collect more tickets than normal times through various manipulations. Arrested Mizan and Sohail used to sell around 2-3 thousand railway tickets through black market every year during the Eid season through Sohoz.com employees and ticket countermen of various stations across the country. Keeping the upcoming holy Eid-ul-Fitr in mind, they were planning to collect more tickets than before.
It was informed in the press conference that Mizan joined the Kamlapur railway station branch as a peon in 2003. Later contracted with CNS.bd, he was retained as an experienced worker. In 2020, when the railway ticket contract was given to Sohoz, the arrested Mizan’s job was retained. Mizan has long been involved in the black market of train tickets.
Newton, on the other hand, joined CNS BD as a station support worker in 2012 and became a server operator in 2016. In 2020, Sohoz.com’s contract kept him in his job and he was again given the responsibility of server operator.
RAB also says that the gang members used to collect more tickets through various tricks and manipulations on special holidays including Eid, Puja, weekends. The money earned from the sale of tickets was divided into two parts and half was taken by Sahaja.com and ticket countermen of railway stations. The remaining 50% was shared between the main owner of the cycle, Mizan, his main associate Sohail and the selling associates.