Since the fall of the fascist Awami League government, bus company owners in Dhaka have raised concerns about being freed from the clutches of Enayet Ullah Khondkar’s associates and his patronage of corrupt Awami brokers. These individuals, who had benefited from the corrupt regime over the past 16 years, are again infiltrating the transport sector following the shift on August 5, 2025. Despite a period of silence, they are now using financial transactions to reinstate themselves within various political party branches, leveraging local gangsters and the support of the local police to regain control.
Recently, senior figures from the Basumati Transport Company Limited, including its founding chairman Enayet Ullah Khondkar’s trusted accomplice and appointed managing director, Md. Abul Monsur Bulbul, along with other committee members, have been implicated in widespread corruption, extortion, and illegal activities. In a meeting with bus owners on March 18, 2025, they openly admitted holding key positions in the Dhaka Road Transport Owners Association and Basumati Company during the Awami League’s tenure. Now, under new guises and different political affiliations, they are once again intimidating owners, reintroducing extortion and fascism.
Discussions with general owners reveal that Enayet Ullah Khondkar’s direct involvement in illegal practices and extortion made him a notorious figure in the transport sector during the Awami League government. Bulbul, along with other directors, was complicit in the routine abuse of power, extorting bus owners under the government’s guidance. They used threats and unlawful tactics, such as seizing vehicles in meetings, and are now threatening owners with legal action by showing photographs from those times.
The political remnants of the fascist Awami League, who were also major players in the transport sector under Enayet Ullah, have been involved in violent actions and are linked to murder charges filed in Badda and Jatrabari. Despite these allegations, they continue their attempts to resurrect the oppressive practices of the previous regime with the assistance of police and local political leaders.
The general bus owners, hoping for a fair and orderly transport sector, had hoped that after the regime change, corruption under the guise of ‘webil’ would cease. However, this extortion, which had briefly halted after August 5, has resurfaced under the banner of operational costs, and owners are facing financial damage as the management continues to indulge in illegal practices. The Basumati management has been found to accept bribes ranging from 50,000 to 100,000 taka to allow vehicles without permits to operate under the company’s name.
The management committee, which had previously decided to operate buses without proper permits without consulting the owners, now intimidates them, shutting down discussions on platforms like WhatsApp and threatening them over the phone. Meanwhile, they are attempting to introduce more unregistered minibuses, causing further disruption and financial damage to the bus owners.
The corrupt practices of Abul Monsur Bulbul and his colleagues were exposed in 2021 when he was removed from his position as managing director and replaced by Enayet Ullah’s brother, Md. Monir. However, after a brief period of hiding, these figures have returned to positions of power, once again engaging in extortion and corruption, all under the patronage of the Awami League. The mastermind behind these activities is none other than Md. Abul Monsur Bulbul, who was the managing director from 2014 to 2021.
The bus owners, seeking justice, attempted to file a complaint with the Pallabi Police Station, but their report was ignored. Instead, they were encouraged to settle matters through discussions with the fascists’ allies. The list of complainants was handed over to the current committee, which uses it to intimidate owners with threats of legal action and violence.
