Doctor Attacked After $15,000 Extortion Demand

A senior physician at Dhaka Medical College Hospital has alleged that he received a $15,000 extortion demand before being attacked in the capital, raising questions over whether the two incidents are connected.

Professor Asadur Rahman, head of the hospital’s Ear, Nose and Throat department, said a message demanding the money had been sent to him in the name of David Imon, described as a top criminal from Chattogram. Initially, the 55-year-old doctor did not take the threat seriously. He believed the message might have been sent by a fraudulent group using a criminal’s name.

His view changed after he was assaulted.

Professor Rahman is now receiving treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital. His right eye is red and swollen following the attack.

According to the doctor, the extortion message gave him until 15 August to pay the demanded amount. Two days after the deadline, on the night of 17 August, he was attacked after his auto-rickshaw was stopped in the capital’s Shantinagar area.

The incident took place after Professor Rahman left his chamber at Popular Diagnostic Centre. He boarded a CNG-run auto-rickshaw, but after it had travelled a short distance, four men stopped the vehicle and demanded that the door be opened.

Rahman said he told the driver not to open the door. The driver eventually did so, however, after which the attackers assaulted him.

The men allegedly told the doctor that he had provided improper treatment to one of their sisters. When Rahman asked who the patient was and where she had received treatment, they did not provide any details, according to his account.

The assault was interrupted when local residents caught one of the alleged attackers and handed him over to the police.

Rahman said the detained man was unable to provide any information about the alleged patient. According to the doctor, the man told police that someone had informed him that the doctor had a large amount of money. He was allegedly promised a mobile phone if he accompanied the group.

The detained man is reportedly from the same area as Rahman’s family home in Ramganj, Lakshmipur.

The messages received after the assault have added another dimension to the case. About an hour after the attack, Rahman received another message from the same number asking, “How do you feel now?”

He said two further messages were sent the following day. One allegedly asked whether he wanted to create “more trouble”, while another threatened to send members of the media to him.

Rahman has filed a case with Paltan Police Station. The first information report mentions the demand for $15,000 in extortion, but does not name David Imon or include details of the messages allegedly sent after the attack.

Paltan Police Station’s Inspector (Investigation), Shafiqul Islam, said the initial investigation suggested that the attack may have resulted from previous enmity. He said the actual circumstances would become clearer once those involved were arrested and questioned.

Rahman, however, said he was not satisfied with the police investigation and called for the case to be transferred to the Detective Branch.

Police have already identified one person allegedly linked to the assault. A source involved in the investigation said a man named Jibon had been detained by local residents at the scene. Following his questioning and analysis of information obtained through technology, investigators identified another person allegedly involved in the incident. Efforts are under way to arrest him.

The sequence of events—from the alleged extortion demand and the expiry of its payment deadline to the physical assault and subsequent messages from the same telephone number—is now a key part of the investigation. Police will need to establish whether these incidents were connected or whether the assault stemmed from a separate dispute, as suggested by the initial police assessment.