Case filed against Ctg-15 MP's PA, 5 others over 'extortion demand'

A case has been filed against six people, including Md Arman Uddin, personal assistant (PA) to Shahjahan Chowdhury, a Jamaat-e-Islami central executive council member and MP from Chattogram-15 (Satkania-Lohagara), over an alleged demand for Tk20 lakh in extortion.

Four to five unidentified people have also been named as accused in the case.

Expatriate Amir Hossain of Amirabad in Lohagara filed the case with Chattogram Judicial Magistrate Khadija Akter's court yesterday (23 August). 

However, the matter came to light today (24 August).

After recording the complainant's statement, the court ordered the assistant superintendent of police (ASP) of Satkania Circle to investigate the allegations, said Kabir Jilan, the complainant's lawyer.

The other named accused are Md Arif Uddin, Shawkat Ali, Md Arman Uddin, Md Adil, Md Anwar and Zainal Abedin. 

The case statement alleges that Arif Uddin, Shawkat Ali and several others had been demanding Tk20 lakh from Amir Hossain for some time.

According to the case statement, Amir Hossain built a four-storey building in the Aziz Complex area of Lohagara, with shops on the ground floor and residential units rented out to tenants. He had been living abroad for a long time.

The complainant alleged that around 2am on 3 April, the accused broke the lock of a shop rented to a man named Obaidul on the ground floor of his market and entered it.

They allegedly took steel cabinets, wall showcases and other goods worth around Tk11.59 lakh, along with Tk1.2 lakh in cash from the shop's cash table. The accused then allegedly put a new lock on the damaged shop.

The case statement further alleges that other tenants in the building were pressured to pay rent through the accused. Amir said he reported the matter to the police, but no case was taken.

According to the complaint, the accused held a meeting at his market around 9am on 20 August, where Arif Uddin allegedly threatened that they would not give up possession of his shop and residence unless he paid Tk20 lakh.

Arman Uddin allegedly pressured Amir over the phone to comply with their demands, while accused Nos 1, 2 and 4 allegedly assaulted him with punches and kicks, causing injuries to different parts of his body.

They also allegedly threatened to kill him and dispose of his body, according to the case.

Amir told The Business Standard that he went to Lohagara Police Station after the incident to file a complaint. Although police went to the scene, they later did not register a case, he alleged.

However, Lohagara Police Station Officer-in-Charge Mohammad Abdullah denied receiving any such complaint.

"No one came to the police station to file a case over such an incident. I know nothing about it," he told TBS, adding that he also had no information about the case filed in court.

Accused denies allegations

Arman Uddin denied the allegations in a WhatsApp message to TBS, saying he learned about the accusations after waking up.

"I woke up to learn that I had allegedly assaulted someone and demanded extortion money from him. These allegations are completely baseless," he said.

Arman said he does not personally know Amir and questioned whether the complainant even knows him.

He also denied being present at the alleged meeting at Amir's market on 20 August, saying he has been in Saudi Arabia for Umrah since 7 August.

"So there is no question of my being present in Bangladesh and holding a meeting with the complainant on 20 August," he said.

Arman said there was no truth to the allegations of demanding extortion money, assaulting Amir or threatening him, adding that an investigation would reveal what actually happened.