Badrul Huda Shohel :
When the presence of any iota of humanity in our country today is tantamount to finding a needle in a haystack, just then we discovered a Milton in our country.
Milton Samadder, a well-known peddler of humanity as called by many, was the savior and shelter of the elderly and the helpless even a few days ago.
Today allegations are brought against him. He is arrested by DB police. One of his myriad crimes was fraudulent death certificates he forged.
There are allegations of child trafficking including brutally beating of people in the torture cell of his center. It is known that 3 cases have been filed against him for committing these heinous activities through the ‘Child and Old Age Care’ run by him.
Milton Samadder himself tells us the story of his rise. He used to bring the sick and homeless old people lying on the streets to his centers and take care of them, give them medicine and food.
He was able to captivate people’s conscience by capitalising on the services he rendered to the distressed and promoting it through different social communication media. He used to get crores of taka as donation for the treatment and care of sick and physically-impaired people.
Unfortunately, deaths of some boarders in his centers pushed him in the hot water. His cats are now getting out of the bag one by one. Allegations against him are that the bodies buried under Milton bore the marks of cuts and lacerations.
Besides, he failed to give the right information of the number of burial of dead bodies to the DB police. He is also charged of dissecting important limbs of the bodies.
We will probably know more details about the charges brought against Milton Samader later as DB Police are on their way to unlock the racket. I, however, behind the story, want to have some questions.
That is, we learn that Milton took approval from the Directorate of Social Services for the two centers named ‘Child and Old Age Care’- one at Mirpur and the other at Savar, established by him.
Then it is not unwise to raise some questions about the government department concerned. Did the Directorate of Social Services conduct regular inspection or monitoring activities in his centers?
Since the department concerning this approves any non-profit private organisation run by the help of common people’s donation, then as per the rules, did any of the government wings got the audit work flawless in the centers by any neutral body? Milton received money donated by people from home and abroad via private banks and mobile banking.
And, if the audits were on regular basis, then how did he become successful in managing all these matters? Where were the government bodies then?
Now that Milton is alleged to be involved in dissecting human organs, it is imperative to broadly discuss the relevant issues.
The gruesome story of anatomic dissecting, preserving the limbs and selling them necessarily leads us to enquire some unknown and unseen issues which are yet to be disclosed.
For the job, apart from expert physicians, special labs, operation theaters with sophisticated equipment are required. It is known that a physician used to visit there every month and Milton used the doctor’s name and seal to make fake death certificates which the doctor did not know.
Before the media, Milton’s wife even did not properly answer about his misdeeds probably to save herself. Milton has little learning, but his wife, a nurse, working in the government office knows very well how to answer reporters’ questions avoiding the relevance.
That the doctor visited the centers for a fee each month is known but what kind of reports and advice he suggested to Milton is not known. Did any others used to visit there? As I stated earlier, the complex task of transplanting organs without expert ones is certainly not possible for an awkward man like Milton.
And if Milton is involved in dissecting the organs, there must have been cases of delivering them to some hospitals or clinics. Is there any inquiry about that? Whether he is involved in organ theft or not, DB Police has already revealed that Milton felt demonic pleasure of torturing and beating sick, old, disabled and helpless people to the torture cell set up in his centers, leaving clear message about Milton’s being a mafia member in the underworld of crime.
The man who beat his father up in the village and moved to the capital and got fired from the pharmacy for stealing cannot change himself overnight, no matter how much he wraps himself in the cloak of humanity and honesty. “What other sins lie in Milton’s world? With whom the ghost of Aladin’s lamp owned by Milton worked?” are the questions need to be solved.
It is known that Milton started his activity in 2014. Where were the government entities to monitor his centers during this long term? We don’t understand why other government wings still remain mum even though the DB Police is trying relentlessly to expose his criminal world to the public.
The accomplices of this ghoul named Milton in the mask of honesty or sanctity should also be brought to book. Like Milton, many polymorphous criminals, whom we cannot see with naked eyes, work behind the curtain to fulfill their ill motives. If exemplary punishment is not ensured against the culprits, their incorporeal souls can come back to our society in the persona of Milton hanging the signboard of humanity to torment and agonise us.
(The writer is Assistant Professor and Head, Department of English, Ishakha International University).