2 held over forcibly signing of cheques and stamp papers in Barisal

Police have arrested two persons in Barisal for allegedly beating up the managing director (MD) of a housing company and forcibly taking his signature cheques and non-judicial stamps.

Mostafizur Rahman Litu and Abul Kalam Azad were arrested from the city's 'Top Ten' area on Sunday (July 5) afternoon. They were held after an FIR was registered at the Kotwali Model Police Station on the orders of the court.

The victim, Abdul Aziz Howlader, alleged that Litu and some associates entered the office of Agrani Housing Limited in the city's Sadar Road area on Thursday evening and beat and threatened him. At one stage, he was forced to sign a cheque of Tk7 million and six blank non-judicial stamps. When he quickly informed the bank authorities after the incident, the accused could not cash the cheque.

The complaint states that seven people, including Mostafizur Rahman Litu, have been named as accused, along with 10 to 15 unidentified people. The victim claims that Litu was once a business partner in their housing company. In 2023, all financial transactions between the two were settled through land transfer and a written declaration was also given in this regard. Even then, Litu had been demanding Tk1 crore from him for the past few months. He alleged that the incident happened because he rejected that demand.

Although it was claimed locally that Litu was involved with the activities of Jubo Dal, the Barisal Metropolitan unit Jubo Dal denied it. The organization's general secretary Masud Hasan Mamun said at a press conference that Litu never held any position in the Jubo Dal and had no connection with the organization. On the other hand, Litu's brother and Barisal Metropolitan Swechchhasebak Dal president Mahbubur Rahman Pintu claimed that the incident did not actually happen the way it is being publicized.

Assistant Commissioner of Barisal Metropolitan Police Belal Hossain said that when the victim filed a complaint in the court, the court ordered it to be accepted as an FIR. Based on that order, the two accused were arrested on Sunday.

Earlier on Saturday, a CCTV footage of the incident went viral on social media. In the video that went viral, some people were seen entering the office, surrounding Abdul Aziz, beating him and forcing him to sign checks and stamps by placing them in front of him. However, despite attempts to get Mostafizur Rahman Litu's statement regarding the complaint, it was not possible to contact him.