Case filed against Jamaat MP's personal assistant over demand for Tk 2 million in extortion

Md. Arman Uddin has been sued over allegations of demanding Tk 2 million in extortion from an expatriate in Chattogram. Arman is the personal assistant (PA) to Shahjahan Chowdhury, member of parliament for Chattogram-15 and a member of Jamaat-e-Islami's central working council.

Amir Hossain, a resident of Amirabad area in Lohagara, filed the case at the court of Chattogram Judicial Magistrate Khadija Akter on Sunday afternoon. The matter came to light on Monday.

The plaintiff's lawyer, Kabir Jilan, said the court has recorded the plaintiff's statement and directed the Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) of Satkania Circle to investigate the allegations.

Arman Uddin's associates Md. Arif Uddin, Shawkat Ali, Md. Adil, Md. Anwar and Zainal Abedin have also been made accused in the case.

According to the case documents, Amir Hossain has built a four-storey building with ground-floor shops at Aziz Complex area in Lohagara. He has been living abroad for a long time. The case alleges that Arif Uddin and others, led by Arman Uddin, had been demanding Tk 2 million in extortion from him for several days.

The case further alleges that the accused broke the lock of a tenant's shop on the ground floor of the market and entered it around 2am on April 3. They allegedly took away various items, including a steel almirah and a wall showcase, from there, with the value of these items estimated at Tk 1,158,659 in the case. It has also been alleged that they took away the cash table and Tk 120,000 that was inside it.

A new lock was later put on the shop. The plaintiff has also alleged that other tenants were threatened through the accused into paying rent.

The case states that the accused held a meeting at the plaintiff's market around 9am on August 20. Arif Uddin allegedly said there that they would not give up possession of the shop and house unless the Tk 2 million extortion money was paid. It has also been alleged that Arman Uddin pressured the plaintiff over the phone to accept the extortion demand.

The case further states that the accused beat, punched and kicked him, injuring various parts of his body.

Plaintiff Amir Hossain said he sought recourse from the court after police refused to accept the case. He demanded a proper investigation and justice over the extortion allegations.

Arman Uddin, however, denied the allegations. Claiming that he does not know the plaintiff, he said a certain quarter has raised such allegations in a planned manner to malign him in various ways.