Stop extortion at every level

It is no secret that many businesses in Bangladesh rely on extortion. This has been a terrible cycle of corruption in Bangladesh for a long time. Successive governments come and go; but the pattern of extortion remains the same. When various reforms are being carried out in the state after the popular July uprising, it was hoped that extortion would also decrease somewhat; but there is no sign of a decrease, in some cases it has even increased. A businessman in Dhaka recently told the media, “Earlier, extortion had to be paid to one person, now it has to be paid to four or five people.”

According to the information received, many businessmen in Dhaka are terrified due to one extortion after another since the political change of August 5. They claim that even though they are not directly involved in politics, they are being extorted with huge sums of money being threatened with lawsuits. They have alleged that in most cases, extortion is being sought in the name of leaders and activists of BNP and its affiliates. The party has already expelled about 1,500 leaders and activists for their involvement in such incidents; but even then, the party is struggling to control them. Some of the party’s senior leaders are blaming the ousted Awami League for this situation. BNP leaders allege that Awami has destroyed the culture of Bangladesh. Now nothing can be done without extortion.

But we know that this extortion has been going on since the tenure of Ershad. BNP was also in power twice, and extortion continued during their tenure also. Now, it is not enough to just verbally blame the previous Awami League. The Awami League has left, so why is extortion still going on? If BNP leaders and activists are involved in extortion, BNP must take responsibility and the interim government must take measures to stop all types of extortion very soon.

The law and order situation was very fragile in the first few months after the interim government came to power. We saw that the law enforcement agencies were hesitant, fearing what danger they would face if they nab someone. This context led to an increase in many types of crimes in the country. People were afraid to leave their homes after dusk due to the fear of robbery. Recently, in the face of public protests, the law enforcement agencies have become somewhat more active. Now, some crimes including robbery and mob justice have decreased; but not extortion. In view of Eid, extortion has increased in some places, especially in the transport sector. It is known from a truck driver who had to pay extortion at least at four points on the way from Jashore to Jatrabari in Dhaka with a truck full of vegetables. This is why the price of vegetables in Dhaka increases three to four times compared to prices at district level. The interim government must take action against these immediately.

Adviser Muhammad Fawzul Kabir Khan has said that the government is trying to stop extortion. He told the media, "We are trying. The police have also been instructed. They have started taking necessary steps."

This should not be just talks, a zero-tolerance policy should be adopted against extortion, because, extortion gives rise to many other irregularities and corruption. If extortion is not eliminated from Bangladesh at once, the business ethics of this country will not be right.