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Cops in extortionist's role on streets

Regular thugs stay at bay in fear of Rab

SHAHEEN MOLLAH
Heavy presence of plainclothes and uniformed Rab personnel at the markets and on the streets of the capital in this Eid shopping season have kept the usual extortionists away from street vendors at more than a hundred spots, but the police however have filled in the gap.
Disgruntled vendors at different spots in the city told The Daily Star that right before the Eid the police seem to have an open season on them as they are being extorted by almost all tiers of the police department including the sub-inspectors, traffic sergeants, patrol police, local police camps and even by the cashiers of police stations besides the “linemen” (designated toll collectors for the police).
Shyampur, Jatrabari, Motijheel, Gulistan, Baitul Muqarram, Purana Paltan, Sadarghat, New Market, Malibagh, Karwan Bazar, Farm Gate, and Mirpur are some of the spots where thousands of vendors have been setting up their shops occupying the footpaths. Though these spots are typically occupied by vendors all the year round, their number rises sharply during the month of Ramadan preceding the Eid.
More than a hundred vendors set up their makeshift shops on different footpaths at Farm Gate particularly in front of Tejgaon College and Aananda Cinema Hall. A whole variety of children's clothes, Panjabis, Saris, Shalwars, Lungis, and shirts are on display on a large sheet of cloth spread right on the footpath. Badiuzzaman (not his real name), who sells children's clothes from a 3 ft by 3 ft space, said in his four-year career as a vendor he has never seen the police being so aggressive in extortion. “On October 29, I paid Tk 220 and the amount will go up higher as the Eid nears,” he said. Comparatively larger vendors have to pay the police up to Tk 300 a day in illegal tolls.
The extortions usually begin in the evening and a number of police squads start collecting tolls. Some of the vendors identified Habildar Shahzahan and Sergeant Salam among many others as the toll collectors. Then there are different patrol teams, not to mention the “linemen”. Duty Officer of Tejgaon police station Abdus Sabur however said he knew no one by those names. He however assured this correspondent that he would look into the matter.
About 1,000 vendors have been sitting with their merchandises on the footpaths at Gulistan, Baitul Muqarram, Paltan, and Fulbaria. A vendor has to pay tolls of Tk 50 to Tk 200 at these places depending on the number of merchandises one has on display. Besides the linemen, vendors at these places have to pay tolls also to the representatives sent by patrol inspectors (PI) and to the patrol police. Latif (not his real name), who once had a shop at New Bangabazar, has now come onto the street after the market was gutted by a fire last year. He sells shirts from his 2.5 ft by 2.5 ft space on the footpath right in front of an under construction multi-storied market. “I am paying Tk 75 everyday to the lineman,” he said.
Vendors on the footpath in front of Dhanmandi Hawkers' Market have also not escaped extortions by the police. Mofiz (not his real name), who sells Panjabis, said until recently the vendors used to pay a daily toll of Tk 120 to a lineman named Rafiq. About a month ago when Rafiq was apprehended by Rab the vendors in the area heaved a sigh of relief. “But for the last two weeks we have been paying Tk 200 to Tk 350 to the new toll collector,” Latif pointed out.
A Rab source informed this correspondent that about 1000 Rab members from five battalions are working at different city markets. Continuous presence of Rab has succeeded to keep the extortionists at bay to a good extent. But the vendors almost all over the city said while they are enjoying a little respite from the civilian extortionists, extortions by the police is not letting them do their business smoothly.
Asked by The Daily Star to comment on extortions by the police, Dhaka Metropolitan Police Commissioner SM Mizanur Rahamn put the blame on the street vendors for doing business on the footpaths. “Why should they pay toll to the police. We don't have any complaints regarding such extortions. If anyone complains we are certainly going to take actions against the guilty officers.