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24 top criminals run phone extortion ring

Interpol issues red notice against the fugitives

Mukhlesur Rahman
At least 24 top criminals are nirthittg a violent extortion ring over telephone from overseas, which has already claimed five lives and deteriorated an already dire law and order situation in Dhaka.
Assistant Inspector General (Crime-2) of police Hasib Aziz said Interpol red notices have been issued against 83 top criminals hiding abroad including the 24.
The fugitive criminals, hiding in India
and Dubai, uso their gang .members in Dhaka, especially Mirpur, to threaten owners of under-construction buildings over (he phone and then shoot their employees to coerce the owners. Five people have died and 20 have been injured from these shootings in the last two months.
Talking to The Daily Star, Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner AKM Shahidul Haque said, "We have requested the foreign
governments conceited to detain the top listed criminals but the criminals are still at large in those countries and they are controlling their gangs over cell phones to extort money in Dhaka. "
Commissioner Shahidul said top listed criminals Dakaat Shahid, Shahadat, Monwar Hossain Manu, Khurshed and Mukul are controlling their gangs from India, while Naruttam Saha alias Ashik runs his operation from Dubai.
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Detective sources say that 603 extortion threats over cell phones have been reported this year and 1,092 SIM cards have been blocked at different stages of extortion in Dhaka.
Shahadat alone is responsible for 93 extortion incidents between January and August 25 in Dhaka's Mirpur, Kafrul, Pallabi, Shah Ali and Darussalam areas, according to detective sources.
These gang leaders remain out of the reach of DMP as their associates continue to commit murders in Dhaka, according to DMP Commissioner Shahidul.
Most of the extortion threats have been reported in Monipur, Senpara, Shewrapara, Kazipara, Bhashantek, Ibrahimpur, Mirpur-J,. Gabtali. Lalmatia, Mohammadpur, and Pallabi-
Gang members usually deliver a note with a telephone number, usually Indian, to different construction sites in these areas and ask the building owners to call the number, according to extorted individuals. If they do not call the number or do not pay up after receiving threats over the
phone, the gang members shoot construction workers as a warning.
Shaheen Qadir, a 35-year old construction worker, was shot down by extortionists last Tuesday after he refused to hand over the telephone number to his employer.
Bazlur Rahman, director of the Athena Developer Company of Lalmatia, said extortionists claiming to belong to Shahadat's gang told Shaheen to hand over the phone number to his employers. But when Shaheen did not comply, the extortionists returned around 4:00am, dragged Shaheen out of the construction site to stab and shoot him dead.
After the murder, the extortionists gave the same number to one of Shaheen's coworkers to pass on to the construction company.
Dakaat Shahid's men opened fire in Mirpur Swadhin Bangla Super Market two months ago, that left one dead and nine others injured. The arrested gang members said Shahid called the men using the Benapole cell phone tower to give his instructions fortheattack.