Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury

Early life and education

Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury received a bachelor of law degree (LLB) and two master's degrees, one in political science, and the other in Islamic history and culture. He also studied at a music college, in Segunbagicha, Dhaka.

Bangladesh Liberation War

Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya was a member of the Mukti Bahini under sector 2 led by Khaled Mosharraf. Maya was awarded the third highest award for gallantry, Bir Bikram, for his contributions during Bangladesh Liberation War, led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Maya was a leader or participant of the platoon of students and young men under Sector No 2 that conducted guerilla attacks in Dhaka. He participated in a 9 June 1971 evening grenade attack on the Hotel Intercontinental. The goal of the mission, called Operation Hotel Intercontinental: 'Hit and Run', was to prevent the funding of the Pakistani junta, by Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan, head of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and the World Bank Aid Mission. It was also to let them know that Dhaka was not totally under control of the Pakistani army.

Overview

He was a member of the 7th parliament for Chandpur-2 of the Constituency 261. The election, which took place in 1996, was for a five year term. He was Minister of Local Governments, Rural Development and Cooperatives in 1997 and 1998. Maya was chair of the Bangladesh Shipping Corporation in 2003 and 2004. He was the Shipping Minister, for which he was charged and tried for corruption.

Maya was a member of the 10th parliament for Chandpur-2 of the Constituency 261 beginning in 2014.

Maya has been the cabinet minister for Disaster and Relief Management.

Bangladesh Awami League

On the night 15 August 1975 when Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was assassinated, Maya openly protested and condemned the killings, for which he was arrested and held at the Dhaka Central Jail. He was there on Jail Killing Day. Imprisoned for 3 years along with the four national leaders of Bangladesh, they were later freed by writ in the High Court.

He was General Secretary of the Dhaka Awami League in 2003, when the metropolitan unit was formed and again before 2016, when it was split into north and south units. From 2016 to 2019, he is a member of central working committee of the party.

2004 grenade attack

At 5:20 pm on 21 August 2004, there was an attack on a rally held by the Bangladesh Awami League in front of its offices on Bangabandhu Avenue. At the time that Sheikh Hasina, the president of the Bangladesh Awami League, concluded her speech, nine grenades exploded. This left 24 people dead and more than 300 people injured. Senior leaders of the party who were on the stage—including Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya and Mohammad Hanif—formed a human barricade around Hasina to protect her and got her into her bulletproof jeep so that she could leave the area. Men like Maya and Hanif are credited with saving her life.

Corruption charges

On 25 October 2007, Maya and four members of his family—his wife, son, and a daughter-in-law—were charged with corruption. Maya was charged with taking and not declaring money when he was the state minister for shipping. On 14 February 2008, Maya was convicted of the charges and he was sentenced to 13 years in jail, had property worth Tk 5.9 crore confiscated, and was fined Tk 5 crore. His family members were acquitted. Maya was out of the country during the trial and did not return until his party was back in power. In 2008, Maya's oldest son, Sajedul Hossain Chowdhury who is also known as Dipu, was also convicted of corruption charges and sentenced to three years in jail and was fined Tk 5 lakh, which if not paid will result in an additional year in jail. At the time, he was "on the run".

On 20 May 2009, he surrendered before the Dhaka court and was taken to prison, but was released after he won an appeal of the case on 27 October 2010, when the judges acquitted him of the charges. The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed an appeal of the case in 2011 before the Supreme Court, which reversed the appellate decision on 14 June 2015. Following an appeal by Maya, the charges were upheld by the supreme court of Bangladesh in April 2016.

Personal life

Maya is married to Parveen Chowdhury and had two sons, Sajedul Hossain Chowdhury, who is involved in active politics in Chandpur, and the younger Rashedul Hossain Chowdhury. Maya also has a daughter, Rifat Sayeed, who was married to Lieutenant Colonel (sacked) Tareque Sayeed. He was convicted in the Narayanganj Seven Murder case of 2014 and awarded death penalty on Jan 17, 2017 as the charges of abduction, murder, concealing the bodies, conspiracy and destroying evidences were proved beyond reasonable doubt. While ordinary people suffer in prison, Tareque’s stay in jail was a luxurious one because of high-profile father-in-law.