A businessman’s shop and home were allegedly attacked, vandalised and looted after he refused to pay extortion money in Joypurhat’s Akkelpur upazila. The incident took place on Saturday afternoon in Krishnakola village, amid allegations that a large group of people gathered over claims involving stolen electric rickshaw parts.
The businessman, Al Amin, later lodged a written complaint with Akkelpur police on Sunday afternoon. In the complaint, he alleged that Tk700,000 in cash was looted and that property worth a further Tk690,000 was damaged during the attack.
Akkelpur police station officer-in-charge Shaheen Reza said he visited the scene on Saturday night. According to the initial information gathered by police, a group of people had mobilised after accusing the businessman’s establishment of buying and selling parts from a stolen electric rickshaw. The allegations surrounding the incident are being examined.
The dispute reportedly began after an electric rickshaw belonging to Sagar Hossain of Burapukur-Bishnupur village was stolen. Sagar had bought the vehicle for Tk315,000 several months earlier. It was reportedly stolen from outside his home on 9 August, after which he filed a complaint with the police. The vehicle has not yet been recovered.
On Friday night, local residents reportedly noticed four people behaving suspiciously in the Burapukur area. They chased them and detained three of them. Rajju, from Charadighi village, is alleged to have assaulted the three men that night.
The following day, a local mediation meeting was held in an open area beside a mosque in Burapukur village. More than 100 people were reportedly present. During the meeting, the detained men allegedly admitted to stealing Sagar’s electric rickshaw and said it had been sold to a shop in Krishnakola. A video of the meeting was later circulated on social media.
Following the meeting, the three detained men were allegedly taken to the ‘Bhai-Bhai Engineering Workshop and Machineries’ shop in Krishnakola under Rajju’s leadership. Several hundred people from Burapukur, Bishnupur and Charadighi reportedly gathered there.
According to the allegation, tensions escalated and a group of people attacked the shop and the adjoining house. The premises were allegedly vandalised and goods were taken away. Police subsequently arrived and took the three detained suspects to the police station.
The three men were shown as arrested under Section 151 and produced before a court on Saturday afternoon. They were later released on bail.
Al Amin said he and his brother had been running their business in the village for around 12 years. He alleged that about a month before the incident, Rajju had demanded Tk50,000 from them, saying the money was needed for a picnic organised by local people. Al Amin claimed that he refused to pay and was subsequently threatened.
According to Al Amin, the latest attack was carried out using allegations that his shop had dismantled and handled parts from a stolen electric rickshaw. He claimed that cash, jewellery and machinery parts were taken from the house and business premises, putting the total value of the allegedly looted property at around Tk1.4 million.
Rajju has denied demanding extortion money. He said the three detained men had admitted to stealing the electric rickshaw, prompting him to accompany them and the police to the shop. He also denied that any attack, vandalism or looting had taken place there.
Rajju, however, alleged that Al Amin and his brother Azad had been involved in buying and selling stolen electric rickshaws and their parts for a long time. Al Amin rejected that allegation, saying the brothers had never dealt in stolen goods and had been running a legitimate business.
The incident has therefore brought several competing allegations into focus: the theft of the electric rickshaw, claims that its parts were sold to a local business, allegations of extortion, and accusations of mob violence, vandalism and looting. While some of the allegations have been denied by the parties involved, police have visited the scene and are examining the circumstances surrounding the incident. The allegations made by either side have yet to be independently established.
