Businessman Held for Tk 10 Lakh Ransom in Mohammadpur: Six Jailed, Including DGFI and Ansar Members

A Dhaka court has sent six men, including members of the DGFI and the Ansar, to jail in a case filed over trapping a businessman in the capital's Mohammadpur, holding him captive, demanding Tk 10 lakh in extortion, beating him and abducting him.

Metropolitan Magistrate Ashraful Haque's court passed the order on Sunday night (October 25), following a plea by the case's investigating officer, Mohammadpur Police Station Sub-Inspector Md Rasel Islam. Prosecution SI Md Mizanur Rahman confirmed the matter.

Those sent to jail are DGFI headquarters Sergeant Al Mamun (39) and Lance Corporal Nuruzzaman (31), Ansar member Sohel Rana (32), security guard of private security firm Log Area Security Company Mukul Gazi (26), Mahfuzur Rahman (22) of Kalmakanda upazila in Netrokona, and Ziaul Islam (35) of Kaliganj in Lalmonirhat.

According to the case statement, complainant Md Sharif (32) runs a motorcycle buying and selling business and was well acquainted with his neighbour Ziaul Islam. At around 9pm on October 24, Ziaul took him, on the pretext of buying a motorcycle, to a sixth-floor flat at house 17 on Road 6 of Chandrima Model Town in Mohammadpur, then left him there saying he was going to the washroom.

A short while later, Al Mamun, Nuruzzaman, Sohel Rana and another accused entered the flat and confined Sharif. Tk 10 lakh was demanded from him. To free himself, he was forced to hand over the Tk 70,000 he had with him for buying a motorcycle. Still unsatisfied, they beat him and demanded Tk 10 lakh again, the case statement says.

Sharif then phoned family members trying to arrange the money. At around 3am on October 25, three of the accused brought him down from the flat and put him in a white Toyota Probox car that was with Mukul Gazi, driven by another accused, Mahfuzur Rahman. He was then held opposite Bangladesh Shishu Hospital in Shyamoli.

At one point, when the accused got out of the car to have tea, Sharif saw a police vehicle, jumped out of the car and escaped. After he informed Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station, police detained five men from the spot. Mohammadpur police then took them into custody, and the Toyota Probox used in the incident was seized.

Sharif later filed the case with Mohammadpur Police Station. In his court application, the investigating officer stated that the accused needed to be kept in jail until the investigation was complete, and the court ordered them sent to jail accordingly.

Two more people — Sonia (30) and Fonirul alias Monirul (45) — have also been named as accused in the case.