Riyad Mohammad Chowdhury, the organising secretary of the Fatullah Thana unit of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and a member of the BNP鈥檚 district convening committee, was arrested at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on Thursday morning while attempting to flee to Thailand.
The arrest has been made following the spread of an audio clip on social media in which he is seen allegedly threatening to burn down a garment factory if the owner fails to pay extortion money.
Sub-inspector Shamim of the Fatullah police station filed a case against Riyad based on the audio threat, charging him with criminal intimidation and attempted extortion.
Fatullah police officer-in-charge Shariful Islam said that the case was filed against him over different allegations including holding factory owners hostage, control over the jhut trade, land grabbing, and attacks on industrial establishments.
Meanwhile, BNP鈥檚 senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi issued a press release on Thursday announcing Riyad鈥檚 expulsion from both his organisational post and primary party membership.
The release stated that Riyad was dismissed due to 鈥榰nethical activities鈥� that violated the party discipline.
In the audio clip Riyad is seen using abusive language while threatening Azad Hossain, a factory owner at Azad Dyeing in Narayanganj.
Riyad reportedly demanded extortion money and warned of carrying out arson attack if his demands were not met.
Narayanganj superintendent of police Pratyush Kumar Majumder, said that Riyad attempted to flee the country but was apprehended at the airport. He is currently in police custody in a case filed with the Fatullah police station.
Businessman Hannan Kazi, owner of Kazi Moulding and Iron Workshop, claimed that on August 5, a group of 200鈥�250 armed people attacked his establishment under Riyad鈥檚 orders, looting goods worth approximately Tk 53 lakh.
He was later named in a politically motivated case related to an attack during the student-led mass uprising.
