Criminal gang would collect specialists' details for extortion: DB
The Detective Branch (DB) of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) has arrested four people for allegedly collecting personal information about specialist physicians and demanding money from them.
DMP Additional Commissioner and DB chief Shafiqul Islam disclosed the information at a press conference on Sunday at the DMP headquarters on Minto Road in Dhaka.
At the press conference, Shafiqul Islam said a gang had targeted at least five specialist physicians at government and private hospitals. They included Professor Md Asadur Rahman of the Department of Ear, Nose and Throat and Head-Neck Surgery at Dhaka Medical College Hospital, and Professor AKM Aminul Haque of the Department of Internal Medicine at Anwar Khan Modern Hospital.
The gang demanded extortion money from the physicians in US dollars. Asadur Rahman was attacked after refusing to pay. Four of the seven gang members have been arrested.
According to the DB, the gang collected information about doctors’ home and chamber addresses and their children through food-delivery apps. They then identified financially well-off doctors and demanded extortion money in dollars over the phone.
On 27 July, five men stopped doctor Aminul Haque’s car on Dhanmondi Road 4 and threatened him. On the night of 17 August, doctor Asadur Rahman was attacked in Shantinagar. People at the scene informed the police, who later detained a man named Jibon alias Adil. The others fled.
Asadur Rahman subsequently filed a case with Paltan Model Police Station. According to the case statement, an unknown number had called him several days before the attack and demanded US$15,000 in extortion money.
Shafiqul Islam said the DB launched an investigation to identify those involved in the attack. As part of the investigation, Sani Saha, 38, was arrested in Shonir Akhra and Fatin Israq Labib, 20, in Khilkhet on Saturday night. Two others had already been arrested in the case. Four members of the gang are now in custody.
According to the DB, Sani Saha was one of the key figures behind the gang. He worked in Singapore from 2022 to 2025. He later became involved in hundi transactions and suffered losses of Tk 50 million. He subsequently became involved in extortion to recover the money, according to the DB.
The DB said Sani met Alamgir Hossain while he was in Singapore in 2023. Sani was later tasked with collecting personal information about wealthy people, including their home addresses, vehicle registration numbers, professions, movements and financial circumstances. He was also assigned to extort large sums of money from doctors Aminul Haque and Asadur Rahman.
Sani later tasked Fatin with recruiting people for the attacks. During interrogation, Fatin reportedly said he recruited Abu Bakar, 18, Ratul, 19, Iban, 22, Jibon, 21, and Sabbir, 18, for Tk 100,000 to carry out the attack on Asadur Rahman. Iban and Jibon have been arrested and are in jail.
Shafiqul Islam said the gang also targeted senior government officials in addition to physicians. Another gang has been threatening various embassies by email, he said, adding that the DB is also working to identify and arrest its members.