Jubo Dal leader Ferdous Ahmed Simon pointed a pistol at the chest of a pharmaceutical businessman in Dhaka’s Banglamotor area after he refused to pay Tk50,000 in extortion money. Simon then struck the businessman on the head with the butt of the weapon. When local residents intervened, he fired three consecutive shots into the air and attempted to flee, but members of the public surrounded and caught him. Police later arrived and took Simon and the others into custody.
The incident occurred Thursday evening in the New Eskaton area of Banglamotor in the capital.
According to the case complaint, Simon and his associates stopped Md Sohan in front of a house in New Eskaton. Simon then demanded Tk50,000 in extortion money from him.
When Sohan refused to pay, Simon pulled out a firearm and threatened him. At one point, he struck Sohan on the head with the butt of the pistol. The other accused also assaulted him.
Simon later fired a shot into the air, prompting people in the surrounding area to approach. Simon and his associates then left the scene.
Sohan, who was injured in the attack, received first aid at a nearby pharmacy. As he was preparing to seek further medical treatment, his brother-in-law, Moktar Hossain, arrived.
In the meantime, Simon and his associates returned on motorcycles and attempted to assault Sohan for a second time. When Moktar intervened, they assaulted him as well.
According to the police remand petition, Simon then fired three consecutive shots into the air with a pistol. Hearing the gunfire, local residents rushed toward the scene, prompting the accused to try to flee.
Simon was caught while attempting to escape. Several others were subsequently detained. Officers from Hatirjheel Police Station arrived at the scene and took them into custody.
Jubo Dal said Simon had been expelled from the organization. Jubo Dal is the youth wing of the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).
Police said in their remand petition that preliminary investigation had found information indicating that the arrested suspects were active members of an organized extortion and criminal gang. Investigators told the court that they needed to question the suspects to identify others involved in the incident, arrest those who remained at large and verify various aspects of the case.
Police also said Simon and several of the other suspects had previously been named in cases filed under narcotics laws with Hatirjheel and Kalabagan police stations.
Following their arrest, Simon and three of his associates were produced before a court. Police sought their remand for questioning as part of the investigation.
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