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Phone gangs scare people to pay off

STAFF REPORTER
Using the names of some top criminals, these gangs ask people over telephone to pay them toll or face dire consequences.
They threaten their targets that either they would be killed or their near and dear ones, particularly children, would be abducted if they did not pay the money as asked for or went to police.
They introduce themselves to their targets as Kala Jahangir, Subrata Bain, Banga Babu, Pichchi Hannan and such other listed criminals or their accomplices.
Officials of different UN bodies, businessmen, senior government officials, private company executives, physicians, engineers and other well-off people are the prime targets of these culprits, a top police official said.
They collect various telephone directories and guides to enlist the people they want to victimise. In
most cases, they make calls from card phone booths.
This trend of crime is on the steep rise over the last few months as many of the listed criminals are still at large, the police official said, seeking anonymity.
The culprits hire poor people to gather personal and family information of their targets. Then they contact them over phone.
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Members of the Rapid Action Team (RAT) arrested 38 such criminals in the last three months across the city following complaints. Many such complaints were also made to various police stations. But most of the complaints are not on record as the complainants did not file any general diary.
RAT arrested 11 members of a gang who phoned a man using the name of Kala Jahangir and demanded toll. All of them were arrested about a month back.
Being scared of the criminals, many people paid them toll and did not inform the matter to police, sources said.
A police official said these criminals first demand a huge amount of money and in many cases settle for Tk 5,000 to Tk 10, 000.
On May 27, officials and employees of an insurance company caught a youth when he went to their office to collect Tk 50,000. Earlier, a man identifying himself as Kala Jahangir telephoned the managing director of the company, asking him to pay the money. Otherwise, he would be killed or his children would be abucted, the caller warned.
The youth was turned over to Motijheel police and a case was filed under the Speedy Trial Act. But anonymous callers are now threatening the managing director and the plaintiff in the case with death.
In another incident recently, a youth telephoned an official of the Bangladesh Shilpa Bank and demanded Tk 50,000 from him. The caller warned him of grave consequences if he did not pay the money.
In the same way, Tk 2 lakh was demanded from a journalist of Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha recently, and a general diary was filed with Kafrul police on
Wednesday.
Locals in Monipur area alleged that some youths, claiming themselves as men of Kala Jahangir, abducted a businessman for not paying them toll. He was however released on condition that he would not contact police.
On Sunday, police nabbed a young man, Saiful Islam, from Azampur area when he went to collect toll using the name of Subrata Bain. In a similar incident on the same day, two youths --Jasim and Mohammad Faruq -were caught from Panthapath.