ACCDG’s PA, three others remanded in extortion case

Staff Reporter :
A Dhaka court on Saturday placed four persons including Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Director General’s (Money Laundering) personal assistant (PA) Gautam Bhattacharya, on a three-day police remand for allegedly blackmailing people with fake ACCnotices to extort about Tk 1.5 crore.

The other three accused are-Habibur Rahman, 42, Paritosh Mandal, 63, and dismissed police constable Eskan Ali Khan, 57.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Humayun Kabir passed the order as DB police produced them before the court and pleaded to place them on a 10-day remand for the sake of proper investigation, in an extortion and fraud case filed with Motijheel Thana on Friday.
Earlier on Friday night, detective police have arrested them on graft charges.

Gautam Bhattacharya, 42, was arrested red-handed while soliciting a bribe at a hotel in Dhaka’s Motijheel on Friday, Additional Police Commissioner and Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Detective Branch (DB) chief Mohammad Harun-ar-Rashid said during a press briefing at DMP Media Centre on the city’s Minto Road on Saturday morning.
He said that the accused were blackmailing two businessmen with fake ACC notices and demanded hefty sums of money from them.
“Acting on a tip off, DB police arrested them from a Hotel in Motijheel area on Friday. Fake ACC envelope and notices, four mobile phone sets and cash Taka 1.5 lakh were seized from their possession at that time,” the official added.

“Gautam demanded Tk five crore after he forged the signatures of ACC officials on a letter bringing false corruption allegations against businessman Ashiquzzaman and threatened an investigation against him,” he said.

At one point Gautam demanded Tk two crore to give amnesty from all charges.
However, a fake notice written on the ACC letterhead was sent to Ashiquzzaman, a prayer mat trader in the Baitul Mukarram area, accusing him of accumulating wealth illegally.
Ashiquzzaman reported the matter to the Detective Branch, who investigated the incident and laid a trap. Ashiquzzaman was sent to a hotel in Motijheel with Tk 1.5 lakh to meet with the gang.
“Police then conducted a raid and arrested Gautam and three others,” Mohammad Harun-ar-Rashid said.
Out of Taka one crore, Tk 20 lakh was asked to be paid before Jumma on June 23. It was agreed to pay the remaining amount next Sunday during bank hours. The victim reported the matter to Detective Lalbagh Division.

According to the agreement, the victim Ashiquzzaman went to Hotel Hirajheel with his signature of Tk 1.5 lakh in four packets of sweets. They were caught red-handed by the DB police who were stationed nearby while accepting the money kept in the packet of sweets from them.