Savar Correspondent :
An extortion group is extorting thousands of taka from vehicles every day with fake receipts on various branch roads of Savar Municipal area. From early morning till late at night, youth and teenage gang members are collecting this extortion.
Extortion is being done from pickups, trucks, trucks carrying goods of various factories and covered vans at various places including in front of Binodbaid Kamal Garments, Shahibagh, Bazar Road, Namabazar of Savar Municipality.
It is said that some dishonest people involved in politics and some miscreants named as journalists are taking advantage of this extortion.
It was seen on the spot that they are extorting massive amounts of toll from the covered vans of different companies, trucks carrying bricks, sand, cement for house construction, freight trucks for moving houses, pick-ups using fake receipts. Residents of different areas of the municipality have also become fed up. The extortionists are handing over a receipt to the vehicle drivers with the caption ‘Toll for all vehicles leased by Savar Municipality’.
Sonali Begum is named as the lessee. The receipt mentions pickup 80 taka, truck 120 taka, covered van 150 taka. On behalf of the extortionists, a group of 8/10 youth gangs are regularly collecting this extortion.
This subscription is collected in the name of toll collection in two shifts day and night at Shahibagh intersection adjacent to Birulia Road of Savar Municipal area. About 20,000 taka daily is collected from here, with a monthly account of about 6 lakh taka.
A businessman of Shahibagh Chowrasta, who did not wish to be named, said that we traders have been protesting the collection of fees with fake receipts for some time. But the gang is very big and powerful. Most of this group consists of youth gangs and drug addicts. Any time they can harm us. We are also in panic now.
Talking to the locals, it is known that collection of tolls was stopped on this road for some time after the national elections. Now, they are extorting again as before. If we don’t want to pay the subscription, they come in groups with sticks and sometimes vandalised the glass of the car.
We are now fed up with the torture of those extortionists. But if extortion goes on unchecked, then to whom we will ask for justice?
When asked about this matter with 7 No. Ward councilor Abdur Rahman and 8 No. Ward councilor Selim Miya of Savar municipality, they said that those who are extorting vehicles with fake receipts of the municipality should be brought under the law. They also discouraged the drivers of the vehicles from paying these extortionists and asked them to arrest the extortionists and hand them over to the law enforcement agencies.
They also said that we talk about these extortions in the monthly meeting of the municipality. The mayor of the municipality and all councilors are always working against extortion.
In this regard, the mayor of Savar municipality Haji Abdul Gani told this reporter that no one named Sonali Begum was given a lease to collect tolls on neighborhood-mahalla or branch roads.
Besides, he did not know anyone named Sonali Begum. He also said that the administration should bring the extortionist under the law.
In this regard, Additional Superintendent of Police Md. Shahidul Islam told the media that if anyone complains to us about this, we will definitely take action.
It should be noted that between Radio Colony and Bank Town Bridge on the Dhaka-Aricha highway, there are several wholesale markets including Savar Bazar Bus Stand, Chotoboli Meher, Genda, Tiabari, Ulail.
Traders from different parts of the country bring various products including vegetables and fruits by vehicles to buy and sell here. All these vehicles have been leased for collection of toll from the municipality at a fixed rate for carrying goods.