Staff Correspondent
Silent extortions by different group of outlaws under the shadow of political influentials have been going on in the city’s different areas and recently it has intensified keeping city’s small businessmen and traders in anxiety.
In the name of ruling political party activists, the terrorists are issuing threats to the owners of different shopping malls, business organisations, footpaths and the counters of long-route coach services and roadside shops to pay extortion.
In different parts of the city including Motijheel, Paltan, Shahabagh, Karwan bazaar, Khilgaon, Kataban university market, New market, Chandrima market, Badruduza super market, Farm gate, Pallabi, Mirpur, Gulshan and Dhanmondi, Lalbagh, and especially in city’s marginal areas, silent extortion by terrorists has reached a peak.
They are also allegedly claiming huge amount of money over phone from selected people and threatening them with dreadful consequences if they disregard their demands. The alleged criminals also threaten persons concerned not to disclose their names and not to contact the police. People are passing days in anxiety in the face of pressure for money chased by threats.
Another source said, most of the persons who were issuing threats, are political activists of ruling party and some professional terrorists associating with political leaders are engaged in collecting tolls from small businessmen.
Talking to this correspondent a grocer at farm gate area said that a new group comes to him since few days to give them toll. Members of this group are known to all but none has boldness to raise voice against them. “We didn’t give a single paisa toll to extortionists in the last two years. After forming the new government, a group is claiming toll and threatening us,” he said, adding that the group has already started taking tolls from each vegetable trader and cobbler of around TK 50-100 per day.
“The extortionists usually come during Maghrib prayer and take away tolls from us and some of them introduce themselves as party workers and men of influential leaders and demand tolls,” a cloth trader in the city’s New Market told this correspondent, adding that conflicts between cloth traders and Dhaka college students very often happen centering toll collection but traders are now united to tackle them. “A terrible incident centering same issue may happen any time between traders and students.”
A sweet-shop owner at New Market expressed deep concern and said that toll collection by different groups will not be stopped unless the government takes action against political influential circles who indulge in this crime through their paid terrorists. “I know the names and addresses of the terrorists and hoodlums who extort toll from me everyday but I can’t complain against them because I will have to run my business in this area,” he said.
Sources said, police personnel deployed at different points of the city to prevent extortionists and terrorists are also engaged in collecting tolls. Talking to this reporter, a roadside shop owner at Indira road said that he has to pay around TK 200-300 to police every week to continue his business. “It is a problem for me as I run my family with earnings from this shop,” he said.
Courtesy of www.thebangladeshtoday.com
