3 held over Tk10 lakh extortion bid while posing as CID officials: Court sets 11 Oct for remand hearing

A court has set Sunday (11 October) to hear a 10-day remand plea against three people, including a retired police inspector, who were arrested for allegedly demanding Tk10 lakh in extortion from a jewellery shop in Old Dhaka while posing as members of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

The accused are retired police inspector SM Mostak Ahmed, 65, CID constable Md Hasan Sheikh, 38, and Md Abul Kalam Azad, 52.

They were produced before Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Jewel Rana's court today (7 October), when Kotwali Police Sub-Inspector Md Ejazul Haque, also the investigating officer in the case, sought a 10-day remand for questioning.

The court fixed Sunday for a hearing on the remand plea, said Prosecution Department Sub-Inspector Md Kamal Uddin.

According to the case statement, the accused allegedly entered Arshibad, a jewellery shop in Tanti Bazar under Kotwali Police Station, yesterday (6 October).

They allegedly threatened the shop owner Liton Deb's brother and son, identifying themselves as CID officials, and demanded Tk10 lakh in extortion over alleged involvement in illegal hundi operations.

They also threatened to take them away if they failed to pay the money, the case statement said.

The matter was immediately reported to the Dhaka Metropolitan Police's Detective Branch (DB). A team from the Kotwali zonal unit, led by Additional Deputy Commissioner Md Enayet Kabir Shoaib, went to the shop and arrested the three suspects red-handed.

Police seized a grey CID jacket, a pair of handcuffs, a police field cap, a stamped identity card and other items from their possession, according to the case.

Liton Deb later filed the case with Kotwali Police Station.

The investigating officer told the court that the suspects needed to be interrogated to uncover the operation of the group allegedly involved in posing as CID officials, identify their other associates and recover relevant items.