85% of extortion complaints found to be true

A dark chapter unfolded in the life of Mohammadpur businessman Md Mahatab on May 16 last year. After responding to a call from Mahmudul Hasan Babu, a familiar face from the same area, Mahatab left his home and was subjected to torture. He was held for four hours after being asked to pay Tk 500,000 in extortion money. Hearing his screams, people nearby called the emergency service 999. Police arrived and rescued him. They arrested a man named Saidur Rahman Sayeed and his three associates. Mahatab later filed an extortion case with Mohammadpur Police Station naming the four as accused. After a lengthy investigation confirmed the allegations, police submitted a charge sheet to the court.

What happened to Mahatab is not an isolated incident. Apart from the case filed by him, charge sheets have been submitted in at least 365 extortion cases in Dhaka Metropolitan City over the past 20 months after investigations found the allegations to be true. Although the allegations were not substantiated in 15% of the cases, accused persons were charged in 85% of the cases.

However, victims are not finding relief even after seeking legal recourse. Instead, delays in the judicial process are making criminals more reckless. The legal battle is a lengthy one. Nearly half of the cases currently under investigation remain pending.

An analysis of another case file found that Mofizul Islam owns a singara shop in Mirhajirbagh in Jatrabari. After finishing his business at the shop on March 5 last year, he went home. That night a man named Md Rafiq demanded Tk 100,000 from him as extortion money. When Mofizul refused to pay, he was beaten. Tk 2,200 was taken from him. Mofizul filed an extortion case with Jatrabari Police Station. After an investigation confirmed the allegations of extortion, a charge sheet was submitted against three accused.

Although the allegations have been substantiated in most extortion cases, 41% of the cases are currently stuck at the investigation stage. It was found that on June 26 last year, Abdus Razzak Riyad, former acting convener of the Combined Private Universities chapter of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, went to the office of former Awami League lawmaker and freedom fighter Bir Muktijoddha Abul Kalam Azad and demanded Tk 50 million in extortion money. On August 1 that year, Saiful Islam, Abul Kalam Azad’s brother-in-law, filed a case with Tejgaon Police Station. However, the investigation has still not been completed even after a year.

Legal experts said accused persons in extortion cases are often influential. In particular, they have political backing. Extortion continues quietly through the display of political power. In some cases, victims are beaten or threatened when they refuse to pay extortion money. At one point, victims file cases to seek legal action. However, many eventually back down when they try to pursue the cases under pressure from the accused. Witnesses are also often unwilling to testify out of fear. As a result, even when an investigation confirms the allegations after a case is filed, it does not lead to any benefit.

In this regard, accountability must be ensured at every stage from investigation after a case is filed to the submission of a charge sheet and the trial. Increasing the level of punishment alone will not stop extortion. Criminals must be identified quickly and cases must be investigated without delay. There must be a guarantee that punishment will be unavoidable when a crime is proven. Otherwise, extortion cannot be controlled.

However, given the current forms of extortion including organized and regular collection of monthly payments, extortion centered on markets, transportation and construction sectors, networks operated using political or other influence and collection of extortion money through digital or mobile financial services, it should also be reviewed whether the law needs to be made more modern and specific.

In an investigation by Agamir Somoy, information on extortion cases under Section 385 of the Penal Code filed at 50 police stations in Dhaka Metropolitan City from January last year to August this year was analyzed. During this period, no such case was filed at Uttara East Police Station. However, information showed that 723 cases were registered at the other 49 police stations. Mohammadpur recorded the highest number of cases followed by Jatrabari and Demra.

Of the total cases, investigation has been completed in 425 and reports have been submitted to the court. The remaining 298 cases are under investigation. This means 41% of the cases are still at the investigation stage. However, there are currently no cases under investigation at Bhasantek, Gandaria, New Market and Uttara East police stations.

Among the cases where investigations have been completed, allegations of extortion were substantiated in 365 cases. However, final reports were submitted to the court in 60 cases after the allegations were not substantiated. This means police found the allegations against the accused to be true in 85% of the cases where investigations were completed.

An analysis of information from 50 police stations in Dhaka Metropolitan City found that among 51 cases in Mohammadpur, charge sheets were submitted in 30 and final reports in four. However, 17 cases are still under investigation.

Among 15 cases in Adabor, charge sheets were submitted in three and final reports in four. Eight cases are still under investigation.

Of 44 cases in Jatrabari, 27 are still under investigation. Charge sheets were submitted in 14 and final reports in three.

Of 39 cases in Demra, charge sheets were submitted in 25 and final reports in three. Eleven cases are under investigation.

Of 27 cases in Hatirjheel, charge sheets were submitted in 14 and final reports in three. Ten cases are under investigation.

Of 24 cases in Tejgaon Police Station, charge sheets were submitted in 10 and 14 cases are under investigation.

Of 10 cases in Mugda, charge sheets were submitted in four and a final report was submitted in one.

Of 27 cases in Khilgaon Police Station, charge sheets were submitted in 16 and final reports in four. Seven cases are still under investigation.

Of 19 cases in Gulshan, charge sheets were submitted in five. Fourteen cases are still under investigation.

Of 13 cases in Banani, charge sheets were submitted in three and final reports in five.

Of 11 cases in Dhanmondi, charge sheets were submitted in four and a final report in one.

Of 30 cases in Hazaribagh, charge sheets were submitted in 10 and final reports in two. Eighteen cases are still under investigation.

South Khan recorded 18 cases. Charge sheets were submitted in 15 after investigations were completed. However, five cases are still under investigation.

Of 13 cases in Airport Police Station, three are under investigation. Charge sheets have been submitted in 10 cases.

Of two cases in Uttarkhan, a charge sheet was submitted in one and a final report in the other.

Of 25 cases in Bhatara Police Station, charge sheets were submitted in nine and final reports in three. Thirteen cases are under investigation.

Of 14 cases in Badda, investigations have been completed in 12. Charge sheets were submitted in 10 and final reports in two.

Of 25 cases in Mirpur, 13 are under investigation. After investigations were completed, charge sheets were submitted in eight and final reports in four.

Of 10 cases in Sher e Bangla, charge sheets were submitted in five and a final report in one. Four cases are under investigation.

Of five cases in Shah Ali, investigations have been completed in four. Charge sheets were submitted in three and a final report in one.

Of 20 cases in Darus Salam, charge sheets were submitted in 11 and a final report in one. The remaining eight cases are under investigation.

Of 27 cases in Paltan, charge sheets were submitted in only five. Twenty-two cases are still under investigation.

Of five cases in Shahjahanpur, charge sheets were submitted in three and two are under investigation.

Of eight cases in Motijheel, five are under investigation and charge sheets have been submitted in three.

Of five cases in Shahbagh, final reports were submitted in four. One case is under investigation.

Of 11 cases in Ramna, charge sheets were submitted in five and a final report in one.

Of 24 cases in Pallabi, charge sheets were submitted in 13 and final reports in four. Seven cases are still under investigation.

Of six cases in Rupnagar, charge sheets were submitted in four and two are under investigation.

Of eight cases in Kafrul, two are under investigation. Charge sheets were submitted in four and final reports in two.

A charge sheet was submitted after the investigation into the only case in Bhasantek was completed.

Of three cases in Sutrapur, a charge sheet was submitted in one and two are under investigation.

Charge sheets were submitted in both cases filed in Gandaria.

Of six cases in Wari, charge sheets were submitted in two and a final report in one. Three cases are under investigation.

Of seven cases in Cantonment, one is under investigation. Charge sheets were submitted in five and a final report in one.

Of 11 cases in Khilkhet, charge sheets were submitted in seven and a final report in one.

Charge sheets were submitted in all three cases in New Market.

Of seven cases in Kalabagan, charge sheets were submitted in four and three are under investigation.

Of 16 cases in Sabujbagh, charge sheets were submitted in 12 and four are under investigation.

Of 17 cases in Rampura, eight are under investigation. Charge sheets were submitted in eight and a final report in one.

Of 12 cases in Tejgaon Industrial Area, charge sheets were submitted in six and a final report in one.

Charge sheets were submitted in 11 of 15 cases in Kotwali, eight of nine cases in Bangshal, two of four cases in Lalbagh and two of five cases in Chawkbazar.

Of 14 cases in Kamrangirchar, charge sheets were submitted in three and a final report in one. Ten cases are under investigation.

Of 14 cases in Kadamtali, charge sheets were submitted in 10.

Of nine cases in Shyampur, charge sheets were submitted in four.

Of eight cases in Turag, charge sheets were submitted in seven.

Of 24 cases in Uttara West Police Station, charge sheets were submitted in 20.

Supreme Court lawyer Ishrat Hasan told Agamir Somoy that the finding that allegations of extortion were substantiated in 85% of cases after investigations makes it clear that a significant portion of extortion allegations have a factual basis.

“There is no scope to view this as an isolated crime. Extortion has been defined as a crime under the Penal Code of Bangladesh. The law also provides for different levels of punishment. In addition to ordinary extortion, the law provides for a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine for obtaining money by threatening death or grievous injury. Therefore, it is not the case that there is an outright lack of punishment in the law. The types of crimes and the networks involved must be identified and special surveillance and intelligence activities must be increased. At the same time, cases that have remained under investigation for a long time need to be regularly reviewed at higher levels.”

BNP Assistant Secretary for Legal Affairs Advocate Syed Zainul Abedin Mezbah described the fact that allegations have been proven in most cases involving extortion demands as a matter of concern.

He told Agamir Somoy, “It is extremely important for a democratic government to be very cautious about this issue. It is normal for an accused person in an extortion case to obtain bail unless the case reaches the trial stage. Under the Speedy Trial Act, 2002, the trial proceedings must be completed within 30 working days. In Magistrate Courts, proceedings are supposed to be completed within 180 days. In this regard, the government should issue instructions to coordinate extortion cases specifically and arrange for speedy trials. If these cases are not brought under speedy trial procedures, extortion will increase and they will obtain bail and commit the same acts again. Extortion will only stop when those involved are brought under speedy punishment.”

Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge’s Court Public Prosecutor PP Omar Faruk Faruqi said steps are being taken to monitor the speedy resolution of cases under investigation.

He said, “In extortion cases, we strongly oppose bail for the accused. In this regard, we are following a zero-tolerance policy. We have already taken initiatives to complete the trials of cases in which charge sheets have been submitted to the court as quickly as possible. We want to send a strong message to those involved in extortion by ensuring punishment in these cases. In addition, we are monitoring cases that are still under investigation so that reports can be submitted as quickly as possible.”