Extortion at midnight in Mymensingh: City administrator catches 2 red-handed

The Administrator of Mymensingh City Corporation, Md. Rukunozzaman, caught two individuals red-handed and handed them over to the police while they were extorting money from vehicles late at night in the Patgudam Bridge area of Mymensingh city.

The incident took place around 1:45am at the Patgudam Bridge intersection on Friday night (July 17).

According to eyewitnesses, the City Administrator rushed to the spot upon receiving information about transport extortion. Shahidul Islam, 51, and Md. Halim, 55, were detained there while collecting money from several vehicles, including a truck. When asked about the reason for collecting money late at night, they failed to provide any satisfactory explanation, leading to them being handed over to the police.

City Administrator Md. Rukunozzaman stated that although the Patgudam bus stand is under lease, tolls can only be collected from vehicles using the bus stand from 5am to 10pm according to the rules. Outside of these hours, there is no scope for collecting any money in the name of toll.

He issued a warning saying that no form of extortion, irregularity, or public suffering will be tolerated in the city.

Meanwhile, a video of money being collected from a truck driver that night went viral on social media. In the video, the perpetrator was seen threatening the truck driver while taking money from him. After the video went viral, it sparked widespread criticism, prompting the City Corporation administration to launch the drive.

Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Mymensingh Kotwali Police Station, Md. Shibirul Islam, informed that a person named Siddiqur Rahman has filed a case as the plaintiff regarding this incident. The two detained individuals have been shown arrested in the case, and the process to send them to court is underway.