Four journalists have been sent to jail in an extortion case filed by a local BNP leader in Sakhipur upazila of Tangail, following allegations that they demanded money after recording a video of people allegedly consuming drugs.
The journalists were produced before a court on Saturday afternoon, which ordered their detention in jail.
The arrested journalists are Abdur Razzak Sujon, Sakhipur correspondent for NTV Digital; Morshed Khan, Sakhipur correspondent for the daily Manabkantha; Sheikh Monir, online in-charge of the local weekly Sakhipur Barta; and Sanim Mia, an assistant to Sujon.
The incident took place on Friday night in the Deobari area of Dariapur Union. On Saturday morning, Fazlur Rahman Fazlu, joint general secretary of the union BNP and president of the upazila Business Association, filed an extortion case against the four journalists.
According to the journalists and their family members, they went to Deobari Bazar on Friday evening to cover the settlement of an allegation of rape involving a man named Nazrul and a woman.
They said they learned that the incident had been settled for Tk2.8 lakh with the assistance of local community leaders. Of the amount, Tk2 lakh was reportedly given to the woman and Tk80,000 to the local leaders.
During their visit, a local community leader informed them that several people were consuming drugs at a nearby house. The journalists then went there and recorded a video of four people allegedly smoking cannabis.
The journalists alleged that the house owner’s wife subsequently called local Jubo Dal leader Zahid, who took them to the market.
There, the woman allegedly slipped Tk8,000 into the pocket of one of the journalists’ assistants before leaving.
They further claimed that Zahid gathered 200 to 300 people, who surrounded them in an apparent attempt to harass them.
Police arrived after receiving information, rescued the journalists and took them to the police station. A case was subsequently filed against them.
While being taken to court, Sujon told reporters that the drug users had tried to persuade them to compromise. After they refused, he alleged, a mob was mobilised to frame them.
He also claimed that Tk 8,000 had been forcibly placed in their assistant’s pocket, while those allegedly consuming drugs remained at large.
Fazlu, the complainant, said he had filed the case at the request of local residents. However, he could not explain why no case had been filed over the alleged drug consumption.
Sakhipur Police Station’s Officer-in-Charge (Investigation) Mohammad Azharul Islam said the case involved allegations of demanding and collecting extortion money.
However, he could not provide a clear answer when asked why the person from whom the money was allegedly extorted had not filed the case.
The incident has triggered anger and criticism among local journalists, who have demanded the withdrawal of the case and the release of their colleagues.
Local lawmaker and Liberation War Affairs Minister Ahmed Azam Khan said no one involved in the incident would be spared. Those involved in drug consumption and drug trading would also be brought under the law, he added.
