Savar:Police have detained two individuals in Savar for allegedly posing as detectives, entering a house, and extorting money by threatening the occupants.
According to United News of Bangladesh, the arrests took place during a police operation in the Bank Colony area of Savar municipality on Wednesday morning. Four stamped papers and a mobile phone were seized from the suspects.
The arrested individuals are Md Ashraful, 23, the general secretary of the Savar municipal unit of Ziya Projonmo Dal, and Russell alias Rohan, 22, a Jatiotabadi Chatradal activist. Both hail from the Zafarganj area of Shibalaya upazila in Manikganj and are currently residing in Savar. The suspects were subsequently sent to court.
Other accused individuals include Abdullah alias Abullah, 22, from Bank Colony in Savar municipality, and Md Hira, 24, and Nazmul, 20, both from the same area. Locals report that all three are members of a juvenile gang.
The incident reportedly began when private university student Md Rabbi Khan, 23, visited his friend Sanjoy Mondal's home in Kazi Mokmapara area on a Monday night. Around 9:15 p.m., Rohan and several others entered the house, claiming to be DB police officers. They searched the premises, threatened Rabbi and his friends, and demanded Tk 1 lakh from each person present.
Ashraful allegedly brandished a switchgear knife, holding the victims hostage and threatening them. The group forced Rabbi and his friend Rakib Mia to sign four stamped papers acknowledging a debt of Tk 2.5 lakh.
Upon the arrival of Rabbi's cousin Zakir and friend Junaid, the accused demanded further payments, extorting Tk 29,000 in total, including Tk 20,000 withdrawn from an ATM and Tk 9,000 in cash. They also seized Tk 2,700 from Rabbi's bKash account, Tk 800 from Sanjoy's Nagad account, and two mobile phones, one of which belonged to Sanjoy's relative abroad.
Rabbi subsequently lodged a complaint against five individuals at Savar Model Police Station. Police confirmed the arrest of two suspects and stated that operations are ongoing to apprehend the remaining individuals. Savar Model Police Station OC Saiful Alam assured that efforts continue to arrest the other suspects involved.