Benapole, June 8 — A businessman has filed a case with a court in Jashore accusing a member of the Tourist Police and four others of assaulting him and snatching cash over an alleged previous enmity.
The case was filed by Pintu Rahman, a businessman from Shyamlagachhi village in Sharsha upazila. The accused include Tourist Police member Mamun Hasan Jewel, along with Abdul Barek, Shafiar Rahman, Towhidul Islam and Moshiar Rahman, all residents of the same village.
Taking cognisance of the complaint, the court directed the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to investigate the allegations and submit a report.
According to the complaint, a dispute developed between the plaintiff and the accused after he protested against what he described as their involvement in various criminal activities.
The complainant alleged that around 3:30pm on May 29, the accused intercepted him at Shyamlagachhi Gate intersection in Sharsha. Armed with bamboo sticks, iron rods and steel pipes, they allegedly surrounded him and verbally abused him.
When he protested, the accused allegedly beat him indiscriminately, causing injuries. At one stage, they forcibly took Tk 14,000 from his pocket and attempted to strangle him to death, the complaint said.
The plaintiff further alleged that the accused had previously been involved in filing false cases against local residents and extortion during the tenure of the former Awami League government. He also claimed that they had harassed local people through false cases due to their alleged political connections.
The complaint additionally alleged that, because one of the accused is a police officer, local residents continue to face harassment through the police.
Meanwhile, the case comes amid a separate legal dispute involving the same Tourist Police member.
On June 4, a case was filed in Sharsha accusing six named individuals and five to six unidentified persons of assaulting Tourist Police member Mamun Hasan Jewel. The case named Advocate Mostafa Kamal Mintu, joint general secretary of Sharsha Upazila BNP, as the principal accused and was filed by Mamun’s younger brother, Royel.
According to the complainant, two days earlier, on June 2, BNP leader Mintu’s brother, Pintu Rahman, had submitted a complaint regarding the alleged assault against him. However, he claimed that Sharsha Police Station did not take action on the complaint.
The allegations brought by both sides are yet to be independently verified. Authorities have not yet commented on the matter.
