Salahuddin calls Salman Muqtadir's BNP extortion allegation 'sweeping'

Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed today (27 September) said the vandalism at content creator Salman Muqtadir's studio in the capital stemmed from a land dispute, calling his allegation that the BNP is an extortionist party a "sweeping" claim.

"Salman Muqtadir has said nobody demanded extortion money from him. He also said that if anyone had asked, he would have paid. So, no specific person has been identified, and then he is saying BNP is an extortionist party. This is a sweeping allegation," he said while talking to reporters at the Secretariat.

The minister said there was a dispute between two parties over around 35 kathas of land in Manikdi Nampara under Cantonment Police Station, where the incident took place.

"Vandalism occurred amid a conflict over attempts to take possession of the property," he said.

Referring to Salman Muqtadir's allegation that the vandalism occurred because he had refused to pay extortion money, Salahuddin said no specific person had been identified as demanding money from him. "Besides, he did not file any case over the incident."

"He can make statements against me. That is democracy and freedom of speech. But my question is whether the gentleman who made the allegation on a Facebook Live has filed any case. He has not," he said, adding that if Salman Muqtadir files a specific case, the authorities will investigate it.

The minister said Salman Muqtadir was a victim of the vandalism and that authorities had conducted a preliminary inquiry into the incident.

"He was victimised in this incident. We have seen that. We conducted a preliminary investigation, but it was very brief. A more detailed investigation is needed," he said.

Salahuddin said legal proceedings were underway and a case could be filed soon.

According to Salahuddin, the preliminary report said one of the parties involved in the land dispute was a developer, New Gini Properties, while the other was a retired senior military officer.

"According to our preliminary report, a number of people went there at night on behalf of the retired senior military officer to take possession of the land. They vandalised several structures on the premises," he said.

Among the damaged structures was a tin-shed facility used by Salman Muqtadir for content creation, the minister said.

Police went to the scene after receiving a call through the national emergency helpline 999, he added.

Salahuddin said three people had been arrested in connection with the incident, while police recovered some evidence, including bullet casings and locally made weapons.

The attack took place on Saturday night, when Salman Muqtadir's studio was also ransacked.

The attackers damaged cameras, furniture, recording equipment and other facilities at Brownfish Studio, where he and his team regularly produce content.

His YouTube Silver and Gold Play Buttons were also reportedly damaged in the vandalism.