Kazi Shahid Islam alias Papul has lost his membership in the Jatiya Sangsad (Parliament) as a Kuwaiti court sentenced him to four years’ rigorous imprisonment for moral turpitude on January 28.
Jatiya Sangsad (JS) Secretariat issued a gazette in this regard on Monday afternoon.
Contacted, Zafar Ahmed Khan, Senior Secretary of the Jatiya Sangsad Secretariat, said the gazette has been issued to declare the JS seat of lawmaker Kazi Shahid Islam alias Papul vacant
The gazette is effective from January 28, 2021.
The gazette stated that Kazi Shahid Islam alias Papul has been sentenced to four years’ rigorous imprisonment for moral turpitude by a Kuwaiti court on January 28 this year.
For this reason, he is not eligible to be a Member of Parliament as per the provisions of Article 66 (2) (d) of the Constitution of Bangladesh.
That is why his seat has become vacant from the date of pronouncement of the verdict as per Article 67 (1) (d) of the Constitution.
According to articles 66 (2) (d) and 67 (1) (d), a member of parliament shall vacate his/her seat if he/she has been convicted of a criminal offence involving moral turpitude, sentenced to imprisonment for a term of not less than two years.
Papul, independent lawmaker from Lakshmipur-2, was also fined 1.97 million Kuwaiti dinars (Tk 55 crore) by the court in the case.
The copy of the court verdict in the case against Papul reached Jatiya Sangsad Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury on Thursday. Then, the JS secretariat started process to take legal action against Papul.
|Papul used to stay in Kuwait as a businessman. He neither had diplomatic passport nor did he seek any assistance from Bangladesh mission in Kuwait as he himself had good establishment over there. Kuwait’s criminal court delivered the verdict on January 28, around eight months after Kuwait’s Criminal Investigation Department arrested Papul, the managing director and CEO of Marafie Kuwaitia Group.
He was accused of human trafficking, money laundering and bribing Kuwaiti officials with millions of dollars to recruit Bangladeshi workers and get contracts for his company, labour exploitation and also violation of the residence law.❐
