NN ONLINE:
Police arrested nine people, including Salim Pradhan, a controversial businessman who had previously served time over the 2019 casino scandal, on charges of running an illegal shisha bar in Dhaka’s Gulshan area.
The group was taken into custody in the early hours of Saturday at the bar, located in the capital’s upscale Baridhara neighborhood, according to police. “We arrested nine people, including Salim Pradhan, at his bar. He was operating a shisha bar illegally,” stated Deputy Commissioner of Police Al Amin Hossain.
Salim is the chairman of Prodhan Group, which oversees P24 Gaming—a company that had openly advertised online gambling operations on its website.
He first drew significant attention during the anti-casino crackdown in 2019, when he was detained at Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport while attempting to travel to Thailand. Subsequent Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) raids on his homes and offices in Gulshan and Banani uncovered Tk 2.9 million in cash, substantial quantities of foreign liquor, and currencies from several countries. Two deer hides were also found, prompting a mobile court to sentence him immediately to six months’ imprisonment under the Wildlife Conservation Act.
The following day, the RAB filed two additional cases against him under the Narcotics Control Act and the Money Laundering Prevention Act. The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) later charged him with amassing wealth beyond known sources of income and money laundering, resulting in an eight-year prison sentence.
After four years in prison, he was released on bail in October 2023. In 2023, Salim attempted to re-enter public life by submitting nomination papers to contest the Rupganj Upazila Parishad chairman election, but his candidacy was cancelled by election officials after scrutiny due to his criminal conviction.
In June 2025, Salim re-emerged in politics, being named chief advisor of the newly launched Bangladesh Republic Party.
