A team of Joint forces on Thursday arrested a suspended leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and one of his associates at Sonadanga in Khulna city for their alleged involvement in extorting Tk 4 crore by burying a businessman chest deep in the Nawapara municipality area under Abhaynagar upazila in Jashore district.
The arrestees are Asaduzzaman Jony, a suspended organising secretary of the Nawapara municipality unit of the BNP, and his associate M Tuhin, a former member of the Chalishia union council under Abhaynagar upazila, said Abhaynagar police station officer in-charge Abdul Alim.
The police said that businessman Shahnewaz Kabir Tipu鈥檚 wife Asma Khatun on August 3 filed a case with Abhaynagar police station, accusing聽 Asaduzzaman Jony, Nawapara Press Club general secretary Mofizur Rahman, and four others of extorting Tk 4 crore from his husband after burying him chest deep in a sandy area.
Businessman Shahnewaz is the owner of聽 Afridi Enterprise in Nawapara industrial town.
According to the case statement, Asaduzzaman and his associates extorted Tk 4 crore from Shahnewaz twice in September 2024, taking the businessman to the BNP leader鈥檚 office in Nawapara and Kana Echo Park, owned by the BNP leader.
Asaduzzaman鈥檚 sister Moni Jarmin Elora, at a press conference at Jashore Press Club on August 12, claimed that her brother was innocent.
Jashore district BNP president Syed Saberul Haque Sabu said that Asaduzzaman was suspended from his post on November 21, 2024 for breaching party discipline.
Asaduzzaman went into hiding after the filing of the case by the businessman鈥檚 wife, OC Alim said.聽聽
