Sabbir Hossain Robin, a ward-level BNP leader, allegedly detained and tortured four leaders of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) and Swechchhasebak League for around ten hours, extorted Tk4.10 lakh from them, and subsequently handed them over to police in the capital’s Mohammadpur area.
Following their handover, police produced the four before the Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) Court on Thursday in a case filed under the Anti-Terrorism Act.
Md Ashraful Huq, metropolitan magistrate, ordered them sent to jail after the investigating officer prayed to keep them in custody until the investigation concludes, confirmed Mizanur Rahman, sub-inspector and general recording officer of Mohammadpur Police Station at the court.
The four arrestees are Jalal Uddin, 32, former member of Ward No. 1 BCL in Bhaluka upazila; Nayeem Hasan Dalim, 32, former president of Ward-7 BCL in Habirbari union; Mahmudul Hasan Mamun, 34, former organising secretary of Habirbari union BCL; and Al-Amin, 35, former member of Ward-7 Swechchhasebak League in Habirbari union.
Extortion and handover
According to police sources, Sabbir Hossain Robin, joint secretary of Ward-31 unit BNP under Mohammadpur Police Station, alongside his followers, confined the four victims at a residence in Block C of Dhaka Udyan from Wednesday afternoon until night.
The perpetrators seized cash and mobile phones from the victims and extorted Tk4.10 lakh through various channels under Robin’s instructions on the pretext of releasing them.
After collecting the money, Robin contacted Mofiz Uddin, inspector of Mohammadpur Police Station, requesting police dispatch.
Masud Rana, duty sub-inspector, went to the spot, followed shortly by Amiruzzaman, sub-inspector, and the police team brought the four injured men to the station.
Abdul Halim, officer-in-charge of Mohammadpur Police Station, said three BCL leaders and one Swechchhasebak League leader were arrested from Dhaka Udyan and legal action was taken against them.
He claimed that the arrestees maintained regular mobile phone contact with central Awami League leaders and were staying in the area to conduct terrorist activities and organise Awami League processions in Dhaka.
Addressing the allegations of detention and torture, the officer-in-charge said police were occupied with Durga Puja security duties on Wednesday and came to know of the incident at night.
He added that any unfair treatment toward the detainees would be investigated, noting that a laptop and three mobile phones were seized during the arrests.
Prior allegations against Robin
Multiple police personnel at Mohammadpur Police Station alleged that since 5 August, Robin has repeatedly detained and tortured various Awami League and BCL leaders to extort money, handing them over to local police or the Detective Branch (DB) whenever his monetary demands were not met.
Robin was also allegedly involved in the recent theft of a church bell from St Christina’s Church in the Asad Gate Avenue area.
Sources claimed that following news reports and pressure from senior officials, Robin returned the bell under the guise of recovering it, but no action was taken against him despite investigative evidence.
Repeated calls to Robin’s mobile phone for comments went unanswered, and his phone was later found turned off.
Commenting on the allegations of extortion, torture, and police handover, Ibn Mizan, deputy commissioner of Tejgaon Division, said he was initially unaware of the incident but learned of it later.
He said action would be taken if a formal complaint regarding the torture is received, adding that if any Mohammadpur police officer is found involved, action will be taken against them as well, as no wrongdoing will be tolerated.
