Drive against extortionists after Eid

Police are preparing fresh lists of extortionists, armed criminals and other notorious offenders, with a drive expected to begin just after Eid amid growing allegations.

On March 2, police units nationwide were instructed to compile a list of extortionists within the next three days. However, the final list has yet to materialise due to the breadth of information stipulated by the home ministry.

So far, a preliminary list of extortionists by sector has been prepared by multiple intelligence agencies, including the police’s special branch and detective branch, said Ali Hossain Fakir, the inspector general of police (IGP).

From the multiple lists, officials are now separating the common names to start a special drive, he said, adding that the operation will begin soon.

The drive will begin after Eid, said officials at the Police Headquarters (PHQ).

The lists include suspects involved in extortion from the transport sector, markets and footpaths, as well as those active at autorickshaw, rickshaw and leguna stands, they said.

For instance, in Dhaka city alone, there are about 1,000 names, with most of them located in Mohammadpur, Mirpur and Pallabi.

The Kawran Bazar area has 30 extortionists who collect tolls from the street vendors. Jatrabari has 17 people who collect tolls from the footpath.

Four police stations in Mirpur division have 284 names in total, including 162 narcotics dealers.

Lists from several divisions have already been received, and the remaining divisions are expected to submit their lists very soon, said Tareq Jubayer, deputy commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s crime division.

The other police units and agencies are also preparing separate lists.

“Once those are completed, we will cross-check them to ensure that innocent people are not harassed. Before that, the lists cannot be shared,” he added.

This newspaper contacted Feni, Magura, Satkhira and Nilphamari district police and Khulna, Chattogram and Rajshahi metropolitan police and all of them said that it will require at least another week to finalise the list.

The form has sought the names of extortionists under five categories, along with a separate list of top criminals. Along with their personal information, the areas from which extortion was collected, the amount of money they received weekly or monthly and details of cases in which they were previously accused in -- have been sought.

“Such information cannot be gathered within three days. There is also a concern that a wrong person’s name might be included, which could cause personal harm,” said an official of Rajshahi Metropolitan Police.

Khandakar Rafiqul Islam, additional IGP (crime and ops), however, acknowledged that it may take some more time to prepare the final list.

The government must take strict action without giving weight to anyone’s political identity, said Md Tawohidul Haque, associate professor at the University of Dhaka’s Institute of Social Welfare and Research.

“Often, no action is taken because of links between criminals and people within the administration. Those in the administration who are connected to criminals must also be brought under the law. Otherwise, this initiative, like many in the past, will fail,” he added.

Though the extortionists use some political identities to complete their illegal tasks, they do not belong to any political party, said Belal Hossain, joint secretary of Kawran Bazar Traders’ Association.

“We want action against these extortionists.”