AJR Courier van set on fire after alleged extortion demands and attacks

A covered van belonging to AJR Courier Service was set on fire in the capital’s Rayerbazar area amid a series of alleged attacks on the company over extortion demands. Most of the goods inside the vehicle, including customers’ parcels and important documents belonging to various organisations, were destroyed in the blaze. The company estimates its initial losses at Tk 1 crore to Tk 1.5 crore.

The incident took place in front of Rayerbazar wholesale market around 9.30pm on Thursday (5 November). Altaf, an assistant sub-inspector (ASI) of Mohammadpur Police Station, confirmed the arson. However, those responsible have not yet been identified.

ASI Altaf said police were working to identify the perpetrators and had informed senior officers, who would investigate the incident and take necessary action.

Jayanta Chowdhury, assistant general manager (AGM) of AJR Group, alleged that an influential criminal gang had been demanding extortion money from the company for a long time. He claimed that the company’s offices and transport vehicles had been attacked and set on fire on several occasions after it refused to pay.

He said a company office in Narayanganj had previously been set on fire. Vehicles belonging to the company were later targeted in Shahbagh and Rayerbazar in the capital. He also alleged that attackers had thrown petrol bombs in Mirpur and attempted to kill an employee by setting him on fire.

In the latest incident in Rayerbazar, goods and important documents belonging to customers, small businesses, banks and insurance companies were destroyed, Chowdhury said.

He put the preliminary estimate of the damage at Tk 1 crore to Tk 1.5 crore. The losses could rise further once the value of the destroyed bank and insurance documents and other goods is assessed, he added.

Chowdhury also expressed concern about the future of the company’s employees, saying most of them came from low-income backgrounds. He warned that continued attacks and arson could disrupt the company’s operations and put their jobs at risk. He called for urgent government intervention to ensure employee safety and restore normal business operations, while demanding the swift arrest of those involved in the attacks and acts of sabotage.

Earlier, on 20 October, a warehouse of AJR Parcel and Courier Service Ltd in Hazaribagh, in the capital, was allegedly attacked, vandalised and looted. The company claimed that a group of 70 to 80 people took part in the attack and stole equipment worth around Tk 31 lakh.

After the incident, the company sought to file a robbery case. Police, however, said the primary motive behind the attack was extortion and indicated that a case would be taken over the alleged extortion attempt.

The following day, on 21 October, Afsar Uddin, the company’s manager of human resources and administration, submitted a written complaint to Hazaribagh Police Station against 70 to 80 unidentified people. He also claimed that an unidentified caller threatened to kill him over the complaint.

According to the complaint, on the day of the attack, individuals wearing masks and helmets arrived at the warehouse’s western gate on 35 to 40 motorcycles. Around 40 to 50 of them allegedly smashed CCTV cameras and entered the premises, while the others remained outside. The complaint said eight or nine attackers were carrying firearms and another two or three had weapons resembling short-barrelled shotguns.

The company alleged that the attackers took a Cisco core device, a router, nine Dahua network video recorders (NVRs) of various capacities, 38 hard drives with a storage capacity of 10 terabytes each, a server rack, 40 cameras, eight CPUs, eight monitors and a laptop. The estimated market value of the equipment was Tk 31 lakh.

The complaint further stated that at around 10.30pm on 18 October, two people arrived at the warehouse on a motorcycle and asked for operations manager Nizam Uddin. When they could not find him, they allegedly intimidated the security guards before leaving. The company said it had CCTV footage of the incident.

The complaint also alleged that a man named Jewel had discussed plans to attack, loot and seize another company office. Afsar Uddin further claimed that, after the incident, a man named Saiful called him and threatened him to prevent the looting from being exposed. The complaint also mentioned an earlier demand for extortion money made in the name of Captain Imon.

The repeated attacks and arson have raised concerns about the company’s security and the continuity of its courier services. No one has yet been identified or arrested in connection with the latest fire, according to the information available.