Juba League leader Ismail Hossain Chow-dhury Samrat had no other addiction other than gambling, claimed his second wife, Sharmin Chowdhury. “Making wealth or owning cars and flats was not his addiction. His only addiction was gambling,” she said. Sharmin talking to reporters after Samrat was arrested from a village in Cumilla yesterday. Pleading ignorance of Samrat’s involvement in the casino business, Sharmin said. “I didn’t know he was a casino lord. I only knew that he was a capable Juba League  leader.” She alleged that Samrat did not come to his DOHS residence in the city’s Mohakhali for the last two years.

Sharmin also claimed that Samrat used to spend his  entire earning through casinos and that he had no properties.

“Samrat has no wealth. Whatever he earned through casinos, he spent in casinos. He used to spend the rest by gambling in Singapore,” she said.

Sharmin said she got married with Samrat about 19 years ago and they had a child together.

Replying to a question, Sharmin said she did not know that Samrat ran such a big casino business.

She also said she had a strained relationship with Samrat and she stayed away from him for the last two years.

Sharmin alleged that Samrat did not take her to Singapore as he used to stay with a Chinese-Malaysian girl friend there.

She said she was Samrat’s second wife, adding that he had divorced his first wife who lives in Badda.  

Sharmin said they had bought the flat at DOHS with about Tk. 25-26 lakh.

Samrat has another house at Shantinagar and a flat at DOM-INNO.

Samrat, along with his associate Arman, was arrested from a village in Cumilla early yesterday.