Air Vice Marshal (retd.)
Altaf Hossain Chowdhury
আলতাফ হোসেন চৌধুরী
Chowdhury in 2004
8th Chief of Air Staff
In office
1991–1995
Preceded byMomtaz Uddin Ahmed
Succeeded byJamal Uddin Ahmed
Minister of Home Affairs
In office
10 October 2001 – 25 March 2004
Preceded byMohammed Nasim
Succeeded bySahara Khatun
Minister of Commerce
In office
25 March 2004 – 24 April 2006
Preceded byAmir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury
Succeeded byHafizuddin Ahmed
Member of Parliament
for Patuakhali-1
In office
28 October 2001 – 27 October 2006
Preceded byShahjahan Mia
Succeeded byShahjahan Mia
Personal details
Born1942 or 1943 (age 80–81)[1]
Political partyBangladesh National Party
Military service
Allegiance
  • Pakistan
  • Bangladesh
Branch/service
Years of service1963–1995
Rank Air Vice Marshal
UnitNo. 5 Squadron (1963–1971)
No. 10 Squadron

Altaf Hossain Chowdhury is a former chief of Bangladesh Air Force and a Bangladesh Nationalist Party politician.[2] He served as a minister of home affairs and commerce during 2001–2006.[3][4] He was a Jatiya Sangsad member representing the Patuakhali-1 constituency in the same period.[5]

Career

Military

Chowdhury started his career as a fighter pilot in the Pakistan Air Force, qualifying as a lead pilot in the Dassault Mirage III. In 1971 he was a Flight Lieutenant. He joined the Bangladesh Air Force in 1972 as a Squadron Leader after being released from detention by Pakistan. Between 1974 and 1977 he was instructor at the pilot training school. He was the Chief of Bangladesh Air Force from 1991 to 1995.

Political

After retiring from the military service in 1995 he joined Bangladesh Nationalist Party.[1] He went on to serve as a minister of different ministries and a Jatiya Sangsad member during the BNP administration from 2001 until 2006.

Chowdhury served as the president of Patuakhali district BNP in 2008.[6] He lost both the 2008 and 2018 general elections to the Awami League candidate Shahjahan Mia.[7][8] As of 2016, Chowdhury has been a Vice chairman of the party.[9]

Charges

Chowdhury was taken into custody of joint forces in May 2007 during the caretaker government regime.[1][10] The force seized a shotgun and a rifle, 99 bullets, 970 pieces of saree and 160 pieces of lungi of the government relief materials from his Patuakhali residence.[11]

On 18 December 2007, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed a case against Chowdhury for concealing wealth information and amassing wealth worth beyond known sources of income.[12] In April 2017, the High Court cleared the way for a lower court to resume the trial proceedings.[13][14]

On 26 February 2008, ACC filed another case accusing Khaleda Zia and 10 of her former cabinet members, including Chowdhury, of taking bribe in the Barapukuria coalmine deal. In December 2017, the High Court asked Chowdhury to surrender to a lower court within four weeks in this case.[15]

On 11 June 2011, Chowdhury and Hafizuddin Ahmed were arrested and sent to jail in connection with an arson case.[16] They were later freed on bail.[17]

Personal life

Chowdhury is married to Suriya Chowdhury.[18] Chowdhury's two brothers, Babul Chowdhury and Shahin Chowdhury, were accused in an armed robbery case in Mirzaganj Upazila in Patuakhali in 2007.[19]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Altaf Hossain Chowdhury in custody of joint forces". bdnews24.com. Retrieved 2020-09-10.
  2. ↑ "Former Bangladeshi ministers held". BBC News. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
  3. ↑ "Surprise Cabinet Shake-up". The Daily Star. 2004-03-26. Retrieved 2020-09-08.
  4. ↑ "Cabinet reshuffle: Altaf minister without portfolio, Hafizuddin Commerce Minister (Updated)". bdnews24.com. Retrieved 2020-09-09.
  5. ↑ "List of 8th Parliament Members". Bangladesh Parliament. Retrieved 2020-09-10.
  6. ↑ "Kutti faction keeps away from Altaf". The Daily Star. 2008-12-25. Retrieved 2020-09-10.
  7. ↑ "Bangladesh Parliament Election - Detail Results - Amar Desh Online". amardesh.com. Retrieved 2020-09-10.
  8. ↑ "All but AL candidates lose deposit". The Daily Star. 2019-01-01. Retrieved 2020-09-10.
  9. ↑ "BNP leader RA Gani laid to rest". The Daily Star. 15 January 2016. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
  10. ↑ "Former Bangladeshi ministers held". 2007-05-29. Retrieved 2020-09-10.
  11. ↑ "Jalil, Babar remanded; Altaf, Patal sent to jail". The Daily Star. Archived from the original on 2016-09-23. Retrieved 2020-09-10.
  12. ↑ "Graft: Trial against BNP ex-minister Altaf Hossain to go on". The Daily Star. 2018-04-04. Retrieved 2020-09-10.
  13. ↑ "Illegal wealth: Trial to go on against BNP's Altaf". The Daily Star. 2017-04-12. Retrieved 2020-09-10.
  14. ↑ "Resume trial proceedings: HC". The Daily Star. 2017-04-13. Retrieved 2020-09-10.
  15. ↑ "Ex-home minister Altaf Hossain asked to surrender in graft case". Dhaka Tribune. 2017-12-06. Retrieved 2020-09-10.
  16. ↑ "Altaf, Hafiz sent to jail". The Daily Star. 2011-06-14. Retrieved 2020-09-10.
  17. ↑ "Altaf, Hafiz freed on bail". The Daily Star. 2011-06-16. Retrieved 2020-09-10.
  18. ↑ "Former BNP minister Altaf Hossain's motorcade attacked in Patuakhali during poll campaign". bdnews24.com. 2015-12-22. Retrieved 2020-09-10.
  19. ↑ "2 brothers of ex-minister Altaf accused in robbery case". The Daily Star. 2007-03-19. Retrieved 2020-09-10.
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