Helen Jahangir was one of the many hangers on of the ruling party whom people knew because of her media connections. There are many such stalwarts who are taking advantage of the current situation to make a few extra bucks or get some shine. She had been in and out of news before, even during the peak news period of the Porimoni phase when she criticized the star for the Boat Club incident. Recently her name came up as part of a new “League” of dubious progeny with the stated aim of producing leaders.
A new league formation without some support assent from some level of party leadership is hard to consider but obviously her backers backed out. Nobody is sure if it’s such a big crime. But soon forces many times stronger than she had decided her time had come and now she is inside and accused of “blackmailing important members of the state” as per RAB reported in the media.
The raid really didn’t convince the public that she was into something seriously illegal because a few bottles of foreign liquor and mounted deer skins don’t qualify as crime in Bangladesh. Many are regularly killed, even more beaten up and billions are stolen every day. Millions of yaba tablets come in protected by the powerful and hundreds of men, women and children are trafficked to other lands and nothing happens. The “blackmail” charge is much better.
The point is , she was a member of Dhaka’s top clubs where other social stars are also present and she definitely belongs to the elite that run this town. Membership is a sign of acceptance into that circle. Her position against Porimoni was not personal, but that of insulting a fellow elite. So the crackdown is not against her personally, it’s also against a section of the elite that is part of . The stronger have prevailed against the weaker segment of the upper class.
The charges against her are now focused on blackmailing important people of the state. She has been accused of using Joyjatra TV for that and making money out of her “media business. “ Suffice to say, this is the charge that matters as important members of the state can’t be trifled with even if they have committed acts worth blackmailing. This is a major crime indeed and can be leveled against some other media outlets too so the cozy world also has cracks and can be very vulnerable in certain circumstances.
This shows the fragility of connection power. Any economic system based on connections is fragile as it has no foundation other than self-interest. And that is not always reliable or sustainable. The men arrested in the Porimoni case ere linked to Dhaka’s club society, Helena Jahangir was also one of them but crashed because by themselves they had no strength and the backers simply decided not to back them anymore. In the end, this is how the cracks in crony capitalism get exposed and a cautionary signal to all others who are part of it.
