Five held for extortion in Narayanganj
One of the arrestees, Kamruzzaman Hira, claims he is the personal secretary of Golam Mortuza Pappa, BCB director and MD of Gazi Group
Police arrested five people on Friday, in Narayanganj, for allegedly seeking to extort Tk26 lakh from Bishwash Ceramics and Bricks Limited.
One of the arrestees is Kamruzzaman Hira. He claimed to be the personal secretary of Golam Mortuza Pappa who is the managing director (MD) of Gazi Group and director of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) – as well as the eldest son of Golam Dastagir Gazi, the Minister of Textiles and Jute.
Mahmudul Hasan, Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Rupganj Police station confirmed the matter.
He said that police have arrested them in Golakandail area, under Rupganj Police Station, based on a written complaint from the manager of Bishwash Ceramics.
After an investigation, the allegations were found to be true, the OC added.
"Kamruzzaman Hira, and his associates, demanded Tk26 lakh as extortion money from the administrative manager of Bishwash Ceramics and Bricks Limited, located in Saoghat area under Golakandail union of the upazila. Hira claimed he was the personal secretary of Golam Mortuza Pappa," said the OC, citing the case statement.
They also issued a death threat to the manager, and tried to obstruct the production process at the factory, added the police official.
Under the circumstances, Sabbir Ahmed, the admin manager of the ceramics company lodged an extortion case at Rupganj Police Station accusing seven people, including Kamruzzaman Hira, and 10 unnamed individuals.
Accordingly, police arrested: Kamruzzaman Hira, Mohiuddin, Tapas Das, Sazzad Hossain, and Rony Bhuiyan.
Zayedul Alam, police superintendent of Narayanganj, said police caught the five people red-handed for extortion.
"I do not know if Golam Mortuza Pappa has a personal secretary. And nobody is above the law. Anyone who commits a crime will be brought to book," added the police official.
Meanwhile, a press release from the Ministry of Textiles and Jute said, Kamruzzaman Hira was fired from his job as assistant personal secretary of the minister two years ago.
Since then he had been involved in extortion using the identity of the Textiles and Jute Minister's PS. Last week, the minister himself instructed Narayanganj police to arrest him.
