Chattagram Police pulls AC, suspends two ASIs after Waadaa report on alleged 20 lakh taka extortion

Chattogram Metropolitan Police on Monday withdrew an assistant commissioner and suspended two assistant sub-inspectors following a Daily Waadaa investigation.

The investigation alleged that two men were detained without a case or warrant and forced to hand over cryptocurrency and cash worth 20.8 lakh taka under threat of being implicated in online gambling.

CMP Assistant Commissioner for Public Relations Aminur Rashid confirmed the action to Waadaa on Monday night.

He said ASIs Bashir Uddin and Abu Sufian had been suspended and attached to the police lines after the allegations were found to have preliminary merit. Assistant Commissioner Shariful Alam Chowdhury Sujon of the Lawful Interception Cell, or LIC, was withdrawn from his duties and attached to the police commissioner’s office.

The action follows an investigative report titled "The money moved while they were in police custody” published by Waadaa last Wednesday. CMP Commissioner Hasan Md Shawkat Ali subsequently formed a one-member inquiry committee headed by Deputy Commissioner Md Badiuzzaman.

“The impartial investigation into the incident is proceeding vigorously. The investigation report will be submitted to the CMP commissioner as soon as possible,” Badiuzzaman said.

Shakil, one of the alleged victims, said CMP contacted him after the Waadaa report was published and that he and his friend Md Mansur had since given statements to the inquiry.

The case centres on allegations that an eight-member police team led by Sujon picked up Shakil and Mansur from a house in Halishahar’s K-Block on the morning of Sept. 4, identifying themselves as Detective Branch officers.

The two were allegedly taken to the LIC office on the ground floor of the CMP commissioner’s headquarters and held without a specific case or arrest warrant.

Shakil alleged that officers threatened to implicate him as an online gambling agent and forced him to surrender cryptocurrency and cash worth Tk 20.8 lakh from his Binance account, bank account and Nagad app.

His private car was also seized and taken to Dampara Police Lines.

The two men were eventually released after the money and dollars were handed over, according to the allegations, but police retained 14 mobile phones found with them.

The car was later returned. Shakil alleged that Sujon initially demanded another Tk 5 lakh, and later an iPhone, to return the seized phones.

The investigation remains underway.

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