'Eid gift to police': 3 arrested on charges of duping BNP leader of Tk2 lakh

Gazipur Police recently arrested three men for allegedly duping a local BNP leader of Tk2 lakh by impersonating the district police superintendent.

The arrestees allegedly used the photo and name of Gazipur SP Chowdhury Md Jaber Sadek to reach out to the BNP leader on WhatsApp and asked for Tk2 lakh, which they claimed would be spent on buying gifts for district police members.

"During the arrest, we recovered the Tk2 lakh they took," Gazipur SP Jaber confirmed this morning (8 April).

The arrestees are Md Yubaraj Matubbar, 27, Md Samiul Islam Alim, 42, and Rakibul Hasan Ratul, 20, added the SP.

"For a long time, a fraud ring was using the names and pictures of senior police and administration officials to defraud various senior government officials and reputable businessmen through mobile devices and extorting huge amounts of money through bKash, Nagad and Rocket accounts.

"When such a fraud incident occurred in Gazipur too, we took the matter seriously and started an investigation. Three members of the fraud ring, who used information technology and other information to defraud, have been arrested from Faridpur and Gazipur metropolitan areas," he said.

A case has been filed against them with the Joydebpur Police Station. 

According to the case statement and police sources, on 24 March, at around 11:30am, prominent businessman and BNP Dhaka Divisional Organising Secretary Kazi Sayedul Alam Babul received a call on his WhatsApp account.

The caller used the name and picture of SP Sadek, and asked for Tk2 lakh to buy Eid gifts for Gazipur district police members.

As per the demand of the unknown persons, Babul paid a total of Tk2 lakh through a total of eight numbers, including bKash account, Nagad and Rocket given to them in good faith.

However, when Babul personally informed SP Sadek of the matter, the SP immediately instructed the District Detective Branch (DB) to identify and arrest the fraudsters and take legal action.

Babul said, "I was very busy before Eid. At that time, they called me, using the SP's name and picture, and asked for money. I thought that the SP might need money to give gifts to police members before Eid. So I sent the money in good faith. Later, they asked me for more money, which caused me to doubt them. I then informed the SP."

The fraud gang also used the names and pictures of senior police officers and various senior administration officials to defraud senior government officials and reputable businessmen of a huge amount of money.