NCP leader held over cargo truck 'extortion' in Dinajpur

The Army has detained a leader of the National Citizen Party (NCP) on allegations of extortion after he intercepted a cargo truck in Parbatipur upazila of Dinajpur, reports bdnews24.com.
He was apprehended in Rasulpur on the Phulbari-Mithapukur road on Thursday night, said Abdullah Al Mamun, chief of Parbatipur Model Police Station.
The Army filed a case against the NCP leader that night and handed him over to the police.
The arrestee, 40-year-old Tariqul Islam, is the son of late Mahmudul Sarkar from West Rajabasor village.
OC Mamun said, "The Sena Kalyan Sangstha (SKS) secured the tender to collect abandoned goods from the Barapukuria Coal Mine. On Thursday evening, those goods were loaded onto two trucks and were being taken from the coal mine. On the way, around 8:00 pm, a group of 30 to 35 people led by Tariqul blocked the two trucks."
"They tried to divert the two trucks to another route and demanded extortion money from the people in the trucks. When informed, members of the Barapukuria Coal Mine army camp immediately conducted a raid and arrested Tariqul."
SKS representative Ariful Islam filed a case on the same day over the incident, the police officer said.
Although there was no NCP committee in Parbatipur, Tariqul would sometimes introduce himself as the chief organiser of the Parbatipur upazila wing of NCP and sometimes as the convener, said OC Mamun.