‘Murder Attempt of Pori Moni’: Accused Omi now trafficking suspect
Tuhin Siddique Omi, an accused in an attempted rape and murder case filed by actor Pori Moni, was sued yesterday under the passport act by police who suspect he is involved in human trafficking.
Omi, 33, known as an influential businessman in Dhaka's Dakshinkhan area and at different posh clubs in the capital, had allegedly tricked Pori Moni into going to the Dhaka Boat Club around midnight on June 9.
There, according to the statement of the case filed by the actor, businessman and former president of Uttara Club Limited Nasir U Mahmud physically assaulted her, and tried to rape her with the assistance of Omi and four unidentified persons.
While Nasir and Omi are currently being interrogated on remand by Detective Branch (DB) in a case filed under the narcotics control act, Savar and Dakshinkhan police in a joint drive at a recruiting agency belonging to Omi recovered 102 passports and 50 blank stamp papers yesterday.
During the raid at Institute of Singapore Marine Technology in Dhaka's Dakshinkhan area, police also arrested two of its staffers, said Saiful Islam, deputy commissioner of Uttara Division Police.
The arrestees are: Basir Mia, marketing executive of the institute, and Mashiur Rahman, its deputy executive manager.
The DC also said they carried out a raid at another travel agency belonging to Omi, named "Holiday Planner", in Uttara but did not find anyone there.
Kamal Hossain, inspector (investigation) of Savar Police Station, filed a case against Omi and the two arrestees with Dakshinkhan Police Station under the passport act in this regard.
Investigators and locals of Dakshinkhan said Omi and his father had lived in Singapore for several years. Returning to the country Omi started the business and earned a huge amount of money in the last few years.
DC Saiful Islam said the seized passports belonged to women and men of different districts.
"We are investigating whether the recruiting agency has any authorisation and if the passports were kept illegally," he said.
Sources in law enforcement said they suspect that Omi has amassed a fortune recently through human trafficking.
Later yesterday, a Dhaka court placed Basir and Mashiur on a two-day remand each after the duo were produced before it with a 10-day remand plea.
On Monday, DB arrested Nasir and Omi and three women from an Uttara flat after Pori Moni filed a case, and seized 1,000 yaba tablets and foreign liquor from the house.
Meanwhile, BNP MP Harunur Rashid from Chapainawabganj-3 yesterday in parliament demanded that the government takes measures against Dhaka Boat Club, which the BNP MP said was constructed illegally on the bank of Turag river.
In a separate development, Pori Moni said yesterday that news of her unruly behaviour at a Gulshan club was baseless and was being used to distract from the attempted rape and murder case.
KM Alamgir Iqbal, president of the Gulshan All Community Club, told a TV channel that around 1:30am on June 7, Pori Moni and two others, including a man wearing shorts, went to the club with a member.
A director of the club asked the man in shorts to leave the club as no one is allowed to enter the club in shorts. This led Pori Moni and others to start shouting, the club president said.
The actor then called 999, prompting police to visit the club, said the club president.
Sudip Kumar Chakraborty, deputy police commissioner of Gulshan division, said one of their officers had gone to the club following information about Pori Moni's visit to the club.
Upon returning, he filed a GD on June 7 as an officer is required to register a GD after visiting a place as per rules.
The club president said they have no compliant against Pori Moni and will issue a show-cause notice to the member who took her to the club breaching club rules.
Speaking to The Daily Star, Pori Moni said, "This is completely baseless and it is a conspiracy to distract from the case I filed."
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