Son of BNP MP released after written undertaking

Police early Monday released the son of BNP lawmaker Azharul Islam Mannan, a police officer said, a day after he was detained allegedly over attempted extortion charges.

Khairul Islam Sajib was handed over to his family after they provided a written undertaking assuring his cooperation with any future investigation, according to the chief of the Detective Branch (DB).

“We handed him over to his family at around 1:30am,” DB chief Shafiqul Islam told Daily Waadaa.

Sajib, also a senior joint convener of Narayanganj district Jubo Dal, was earlier taken to the DB office for questioning upon allegations of extortions, as local media and our correspondent reported.

Sajib was detained from his home in the Bashundhara Residential Area in Dhaka yesterday (Sunday).

Sources say he was detained upon instructions from an influential minister.

After the BNP came to power, Khairul allegedly demanded a large sum of money from a major industrial group, local media said.

He later reportedly detained vehicles belonging to the group as they refused to pay him.

His father, Azharul Islam Mannan, is the president of the Sonargaon Thana BNP and a member of parliament for the Narayanganj-3 constituency.

According to local media, Khairul Islam regularly collected extortion payments from owners of various factories in the Siddhirganj, Sonargaon, and Kanchpur areas, using the influence of his father.

He also engaged in extortion, land grabbing and control of textile waste (jhut) trade.

Following his detention by the DB, Juba Dal expelled him from the organisation based on “clear allegations of involvement in various irregularities and misconduct”, a press statement of BNP's youth wing said.