Three leaders of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) in Tangail have been expelled after being arrested in an extortion case involving a threatening letter signed “Killer Gang.”
Police said two of the suspects, Abdullah Al Mamun and Sabbir Hossain, confessed in court on Saturday evening to demanding Tk5 lakh from a local fish trader. Senior Judicial Magistrate Badul Kumar Chando recorded their statements around 8:30 p.m.
The court also ordered three other arrested BNP leaders to be sent to prison. They are:
- Zubayer, organizing secretary of Tangail city BNP and general secretary of Ward No. 7 BNP
- Golam Rabbani, religious affairs secretary of the city BNP and president of Ward No. 8 BNP
- Shah Alam, member of the city BNP and general secretary of Ward No. 8 BNP
All five were detained between Friday night and early Saturday in Santosh, within Tangail municipality, after police launched an investigation into the extortion attempt.
Tangail police official Mizanur Rahman said that during a search of Mamun’s house, officers seized a laptop and printer. Investigators found digital evidence linking him to the extortion letter. Based on his statement, four others were arrested.
The case stems from an incident on Thursday night, when an unidentified person delivered a letter to an employee of fish trader Md Azaharul Islam in the Santosh area. The letter demanded Tk5 lakh and threatened to kill him if he went to the authorities. Azaharul filed a case at the local police station on Friday night.
The local BNP didn’t waste any time cleaning house. On Saturday, they booted Zubayer, Golam Rabbani, and Shah Alam from the party entirely. The district’s president and general secretary put out a statement confirming they were out for good.
As for the police side of things, they say the investigation is still active and that the other suspects in the extortion case will have to face the music in court.
