Special Correspondent: August 5, 2024—A Turning Point in Bangladesh’s History. The 17-year dictatorship of the fascist Awami League fell. However, even after the fall of the government, many accomplices remained, who continued corruption and criminal activities inside various institutions. The National Deaf Organization is one such institution, where a terrible ring of corruption was allegedly active under the leadership of the Ripon-Manowar clique from 2020 to 2024.
The National Deaf Organization is the only national-level organization of the deaf and speech-impaired people of Bangladesh, whose purpose is support, education, training and rehabilitation. However, this organization became the private property of a criminal group from 2020 to 2024.
According to the constitution, the secretary position of the organization is reserved for only one deaf member. But Ripon, a hearing person, broke the rules and remained in this position for four years and built a criminal group under his own leadership.
During this period, Ripon became deeply involved in the world of Adda, shop trade, drug dealing and crime. His close associates included Adnan, Rana, Alal (a relative of Taimur Alam Khandaker), Masum and many others. They are accused of using weapons and drugs to smuggle, extort and supply drugs.
Although former acting president Haru Chowdhury filed complaints with the police station several times, with the blessings of the then government, no effective investigation was initiated at that time. On the contrary, this criminal gang became more organized.
One of the drivers of this gang was Monowar Hossain. After coming to Dhaka from Barisal, he secured his position within the organization by marrying the daughter of an ayar of the organization. After that, he started developing close relations with powerful politicians.
It is alleged that from 2020 to 2024, he regularly supplied drugs under the guise of various government programs.
During this period, Monowar became the owner of a flat, bank balance and political identity. It is known that Manwar used former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal to get his wife a job in the NSI and he himself got a job as an interpreter in BTV. Then he started extorting money by taking pictures with ministers using a motorcycle with BTV stickers.
Even though the fascist government fell on August 5, 2024, the Ripon-Manwar clique has not fallen. They are still active within the organization. It is known that Manwar is currently involved in various conspiracies to discredit the current leadership of the organization.
Today, a question is repeatedly raised in the deaf community—
❝ Will those who have played tricks on the lives of helpless speech-impaired people for years be brought to justice? ❞
❝ Or will they once again remain under the dark shadow—out of reach? ❞
Human rights organizations and conscious citizens have demanded an impartial investigation, trial of the criminals, and making the organization free from politics and corruption.
