Police have arrested two fraudsters in Dinajpur on charges of extortion by impersonating the district’s police superintendent and using his name to collect money.
The arrestees are Junaid Khandaker, 24, and Himu, 22, police said at a press briefing around noon on Tuesday, where the information was shared by Additional Superintendent of Police (Crime and Ops) Anwar Hossain.
Junaid Khandaker is the son of Idris Khandaker of Ralerbari Charhossenpur village in Kendua Upazila of Netrokona, while Md Himu is the son of Ershad Ali of Charhossenpur village in Ishwarganj Upazila of Mymensingh.
Anwar Hossain said the fraudsters contacted two political figures and businessmen in Chirirbandar by introducing themselves as Dinajpur Police Superintendent Jedan Al Musa.
He said the suspects approached Dinajpur district BNP Vice-President Hafizur Rahman Sarkar and BNP candidate for the Dinajpur-4 (Chirirbandar–Khansama) constituency in the 13th National Parliamentary Election Akhtaruzzaman Mia, offering false assurances of setting up a police box on the Dinajpur–Chirirbandar road during the election period.
Using these claims, the fraudsters allegedly collected several lakh taka through bKash, he added.
When the matter appeared suspicious, the victims informed the police superintendent, prompting police to launch an investigation.
With the help of information technology, police later arrested the two members of the fraud ring from Gazipur and Mymensingh, Anwar Hossain said, adding that important information was obtained during interrogation.
He further said the fraud ring has spread across different parts of the country, targeting ordinary people, businesspersons and government officials at both senior and junior levels.
“They use mobile phones to intimidate people and lure them with false promises of development projects to extort large sums of money,” he said.
The additional superintendent of police also said the group had recently been planning to carry out fresh fraud operations in different areas of Dinajpur.
A case has been filed with Chirirbandar Police Station in connection with the incident, and based on information provided by the arrestees, other members of the ring have been identified and will be brought under the law soon, he added.
