Staff Reporter:
A youth gang has been accused of demanding extortion money from small business owners, attacking their establishments and vandalizing shops in the Motijheel area of Dhaka. A local small business owner has alleged that he was taken to a local club and physically assaulted by members of the group. He identified Zahid Hasan as the alleged gang leader and claimed that he was released after Tk 20,000 was taken from him.
The allegations were raised by victimized small business owner Shahidul Islam, also known as Munna, at a press conference held at the Shafiqul Kabir Auditorium of the Dhaka Reporters Unity on Friday afternoon. His wife, Rupa Begum, younger brother Md. Shuvo and other family members were also present.
In a written statement, Munna said he had been running a small rice-and-meal hotel in the Motijheel Clubpara area for a long time. According to his account, around seven to eight months ago, a group of approximately 15 to 20 individuals, including Zahid Hasan, Imun, Azmir, Rana, Majed and a person known as Pani Babu, allegedly arrived at his establishment and demanded Tk 200,000 in extortion money. He further alleged that the group vandalized his business premises and took Tk 20,000 from the shop's cash box.
Following the incident, Munna filed an extortion case with Motijheel Police Station. He said police subsequently arrested Zahid Hasan in connection with the case. According to Munna, Zahid Hasan was released in September after spending approximately four months in jail and later returned to the shop with other alleged gang members, where they reportedly carried out another attack involving vandalism and looting. Munna said he subsequently filed a general diary (GD) with Motijheel Police Station regarding the incident.
Munna further alleged that the individuals had been using their affiliation with a particular political party as an identity to carry out extortion and other criminal activities in the Motijheel area for a long time. He claimed that fear of the alleged group had prevented people from speaking out and that several small business owners had already closed their businesses because of the situation.
Seeking legal action against those accused, Munna said he had submitted written complaints to the Prime Minister, the Home Minister, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and the relevant authorities.
The allegations have not been independently verified. The accused individuals' responses were not included in the information provided for this report.