Khairul Islam Sajib, son of BNP lawmaker for Narayanganj-3 Azharul Islam Mannan, is facing widespread allegations of extortion and exerting undue influence over industrial enterprises in Sonargaon.
Despite being detained on Sunday in connection with the allegations, he was released within hours after giving an undertaking, a move that has brought the claims against him into sharp focus.
The police procedure has drawn sharp criticism from senior Supreme Court lawyer Sarwar Ahmed. Speaking to TIMES of Bangladesh, he argued that in cognisable offences such as extortion, a First Information Report (FIR) should have been filed, and the suspect should have been produced before a court.
“The release of an accused by the officer-in-charge on an undertaking in such cases is unusual; it is a violation of the law,” he said, adding that if investigators found no evidence, police could later have submitted a final report to exempt the accused.
Following police confirmation of the extortion allegations, Sajib was expelled from Jubo Dal, the youth wing of the ruling BNP. He previously served as senior joint convener of Narayanganj District Jubo Dal and general secretary of District Chhatra Dal, the student wing of the party now in power.
His influence reportedly began to grow while his father was serving as Sonargaon Upazila chairman during the Awami League’s tenure.
According to police, Sajib maintains a large group of followers, many of whom are also accused of extortion and criminal activities, while allegedly leveraging his father’s political status. Large industrial entities in Sonargaon, including Meghna Group, have reportedly been targeted.
The allegations intensified after Mannan was elected MP in the February parliamentary polls. Reports suggest Sajib gained control over the garment waste, or jhut, business and extortion operations at the Siddhirganj export processing zone.
Industrial groups in Narayanganj have expressed serious concern over his alleged tactics. If a factory refused to comply with his demands, its goods-laden vehicles were reportedly blocked on the road.
A Sonargaon police official described a recent incident in which Sajib allegedly demanded a large sum of money from a major industrial group and later had the industrialist’s vehicle held up when the demand was not met.
The matter was resolved only after the intervention of high-level government officials, prompting the industrialist to file a complaint with the Ministry of Home Affairs. While the police official declined to confirm whether the group involved was Meghna Group of Industries, an official from the company confirmed that one of its vehicles had indeed been detained.
Sajib was detained from Bashundhara Residential Area in Dhaka on Sunday afternoon during a joint operation by the DMP and Narayanganj DB.
He was taken to the Narayanganj SP office at 5pm before being moved to the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Detective Branch (DB) office for further questioning.
Sources said that after a meeting between MP Mannan and local businessmen, an understanding was reached and Sajib was released after giving an undertaking at around 2am on Monday.
Efforts to reach Sajib and his father were unsuccessful. Sajib’s mobile phones were switched off, while MP Mannan did not respond to calls.
Sonargaon Police Station OC Golam Sarwar claimed he had no information about the detention, saying he was new to the post and had received no formal complaints.
Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed commented on the matter, saying, “The MP’s son is not above the law. Law enforcement took him in because they deemed it necessary.”
However, details of the undertaking remain confidential.
DMP Joint Commissioner (DB) Shafiqul Islam described the undertaking as an “official document” that could not be made public. A DB official later said the document requires Sajib to appear for questioning whenever needed and records that he was not subjected to torture while in custody.
Hasanuzzaman, additional superintendent of police (DB) for Narayanganj, said Sajib was questioned following instructions from higher authorities over the overall allegations. He added that most previous cases against Sajib had been settled or withdrawn, while he is currently on bail in others.
