Extortionist arrested with arms, ammo in Ctg

OUR CORRESPONDENT | Published: December 19, 2025 23:29:34

CHATTOGRAM Dec 19: Police arrested an alleged extortionist on Thursday night over an extortion attempt at a construction site in Chattogram's Panchlaish area, where a group of attackers allegedly opened fire after the project owner refused to pay Tk 5.0 million. The arrested person, Md Didar (36), was detained from Nazirpara area under Panchlaish Police Station (PS) at around 10:15 pm.
According to police, the complainant, Ahmad Safa (45), had been working as a caretaker at an under-construction multi-storey building, Hossain Tower, located in Hamzarbag's Jilani Lane area, for the past five years.
He alleged that Didar, along with Yunus (42), Sazzad (40) and five to six other unidentified associates, had been demanding extortion from the project owner for several days.
The conflict escalated on 14 December at around 11:00 am when the accused allegedly entered the building's eighth floor in the caretaker's absence. The group assaulted project engineer Md Omar Faruq Ifaz and workers Nasir and Karim, causing injuries, and threatened them with firearms. To save their lives, the project engineer handed over Tk 50,000 in cash meant for workers' weekly allowances and an iPhone 10X worth Tk 50,000. As they left, the attackers allegedly fired several gunshots to intimidate workers at the site.
Following complaint, Panchlaish Police registered a case on 18 December under multiple sections of the Penal Code, including trespassing, assault, extortion and criminal intimidation.
Officer-in-Charge of Panchlaish PS Mohammad Solaiman said during interrogation Didar confessed his involvement and led police to an abandoned under-construction building near National Bank's Muradpur Branch.
"From a room on the ground floor, police recovered a foreign-made silver pistol, two magazines loaded with 12 rounds of ammunition, nine shotgun cartridges, and a black leather bag."
A separate case was filed against Didar under Section 19A of the Arms Act 1878. Further legal proceedings and efforts were underway to arrest the remaining accused, he added.