Asia-Pacific Newsweek
December 30, 2024
Dhaka – Sub-inspector Anup Biswas was hit on the head with a brick during a protest against quota reforms in the capital Rampura on July 18 and was hospitalized for nearly two weeks.
About two and a half months after the political change on August 5, Anup learned that he had been named in an attempt to murder case filed on October 17 after a man was injured during a protest in Khilgaon on July 19. Although he was incapacitated in the hospital at the time of the incident.
A colleague later told him that he had to pay Tk 100,000 or risk being implicated in the murder case.
Confident that he would be able to prove his innocence in any such case, Anup decided not to pay.
“I was in the hospital fighting for my life and then I found out I was charged with attempted murder,” Anup said. “How could I commit a crime while I was unconscious?”
He also said the first extortion attempt was just a “warm-up”. “It just goes to show that they're serious.”
Anup said he received several threats of murder after he refused to pay.
The Daily Star is aware of seven such incidents in which officers and others were allegedly blackmailed by police and BNP local leaders.
Anup was charged along with 179 others, including 36 other police officers, with the attempted murder of 25-year-old Ahadul Islam, who was shot dead during the protests.
Prominent Supreme Court lawyer ZI Khan Panna was also charged in the case, but his name was later withheld due to fierce criticism.
The complainant, Mohammad Baker, 52, was the father of the victim Ahadul and used to sell vegetables in Banasree. When controversy arose over Penner's name in the case, Baker told the newspaper by phone that he did not know any of the defendants.
“A lawyer named Jassim and a few others drafted the list. I just signed the first information report [FIR]. I want justice for my son. So I sought their help to build a case.
Baker added that he did not have details of Jashim's attorney. This newspaper made several attempts to contact the lawyer but were unsuccessful.
Several other police officers charged in the case claimed that some of their colleagues colluded with local BNP elements to extort vulnerable officers.
Officials who requested anonymity said their colleagues involved in the scams had been very active in suppressing the student-led popular uprising. Now, these rogue officers are colluding with local BNP personnel just to cover up their crimes during the Awami League regime.
Police explained that as the situation turned around, some of their colleagues also seized the opportunity to retaliate and seek personal gain.
They explained that the scammers threatened them with more murders if they did not comply and pay.
The accused policemen told The Daily Star that the blackmailers demanded Tk 200,000 from the inspector, Tk 100,000 from the sub-inspector and Tk 50,000 from the assistant sub-inspector.
As documented in previous cases, some of the officers who actually fired their weapons during the July 19 incident were not named in the attempted murder case, raising concerns about selective charges. The Daily Star has copies of the original FIR and the revised FIR for the July 19 incident.
Along with Anoop, sub-inspector Rashedur Rahman has also been charged in the case. According to case documents, Rushedour allegedly fired at the protesters.
However, records at Bhashantek police station show that he was transferred to Bhasantek from Rampura on July 8, 11 days before the incident.
In an interview with this newspaper, Rashidour also pointed out that Basantek is nearly 12 kilometers away from Lampula, and it is impossible for him to shoot at protesters in Lampula and be on duty in Basantek at the same time.
SI Rashedur has decided not to pay anything. “Why should I pay to have my name removed from a case for a crime I didn't commit?”
Similarly, Inspector Partha Pratim Brahmachari, who was posted in the detective department of Ramna division before being transferred on July 23, is also linked to the same case. He refused to pay.
“They demanded Tk 200,000 or threatened to charge me in future murder cases,” Partha claimed.
Another inspector accused in the case claimed that the group demanded Tk 500,000 or threatened to hit him with five murders.
Some police officers claimed that the group demanded money from 16 officers named in the case and threatened to name them in more cases if they did not pay.
People close to many of the officials, who requested anonymity, confirmed they agreed to pay their colleagues.
They said the blackmailer mentioned “Tk 2” to the inspector and “Tk 1” to the sub-inspector. Officials later explained that “Tk 1” means Taka 100,000 in this extortion parlance. A former chief of a police station in Dhaka told The Daily Star on condition of anonymity that he personally mediated at least seven cases in which his colleagues paid extortionists in order to Avoid being named as a defendant in the case.
He noted that these transactions often occur before a case is filed because it is difficult to remember names afterward.
He also recently told this newspaper that this type of extortion is rampant in the police force.
Speaking to this report, a Dhaka Metropolitan Police spokesperson said they had not received any specific allegations of police extorting colleagues.
“If specific allegations are made, we will take action,” DMP deputy commissioner (media) Talebur Rahman said.
When contacted about the alleged involvement of a local BNP man in an extortion gang, a senior leader of the party said they had clarified their stance against extortion many times in the past.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, he noted that the party has also taken action, including expulsions, against activists accused of extortion.
The Daily Star's attempts to contact several other BNP leaders failed.
Several leading government and police officials have publicly acknowledged that such extortion is taking place.
Legal adviser Asif Nazrul said that since August 5, cases against political opponents and victims have been continuously filed, causing embarrassment to the government. “During the fascist regime, ghost cases were common and the government filed its own cases. Our government would not do that,” he said.
Home Adviser Jahangir Alam Chaudhry said action will be taken against those who file cases to harass others.
“Currently, many cases are being filed and many innocent people are involved. I am instructing the heads of law enforcement agencies to take action against those who file such cases.
DMP Commissioner SM Sazzat Ali recently vowed to take action against these complainants and police personnel and said he has ordered the officers responsible to prosecute the complainants for extortion.
