Jafar Ullah, a physician, filed a case with Paltan Police Station against nine people including Falu for grabbing three out of his six houses on 60 kathas of land at Paltan in Dhaka on February 5, 2003.

The complainant alleged that the accused had demolished the boundary wall of the land and occupied it showing fake papers.

He also alleged that Falu had called him and his brother Kamal Ullah to his ntv office and threatened them with eviction if they sought any legal measures.

CASE AGAINST RUMI
In Kushtia, the news editor of a local daily filed a case against Syed Mehedi Ahmed Rumi, former MP from Kushtia-4 constituency, and four other leaders and activists of his party in connection with assault on him and his office, attempted extortion and threatening with life on November 19, 2005.

Our Kushtia correspondent reported that Zillur Rahman, news editor of daily Arshinagar, filed the case with a first class magistrate's court. Magistrate Iqbal Hossain accepted the case and ordered the officer-in-charge (OC) of Kushtia Police Station to investigate the case.

According to the complaint the daily ran a news item on November 19, 2005 about the naming of a bridge over the Gorai river. The news said most of the people of the district would like the bridge to be named after veteran literary personality Mir Mosharraf Hossain. However, Rumi was lobbying to name the bridge after his father, a former lawmaker of the constituency.

The complainant claimed the news item angered Rumi and he sent his cadres to pick up the editor of the daily Rashedul Islam on the same day. He said a group of BNP men led by district BNP Joint Secretary Sajedur Rahman Bablu stormed the paper's office at Mazampur around 10:30pm.

As Zillur told them the editor was not in the office, the gang assaulted him and ransacked the office. They also beat up journalists and staffs of the daily and demanded Tk 50,000 threatening them with life, the complainant said.

He said he tried to lodge a case against the lawmaker but the Kushtia police refused to accept the case, as an accused was a "sitting ruling party lawmaker". They, however, recorded a general diary (GD) without naming any criminals.

Others accused in the case are Sajedur Rahman Bablu, joint secretary of district BNP and editor of Dainik Hawa, a daily published by Mehedi Rumi, Nazrul Islam Mukul journalist of Dainik Hawa, Jalal uddin and a number of BNP cadres.

CASE AGAINST SHAHEEN
In Mymensingh, an extortion case was filed yesterday against former MP and vice-president of Bangladesh Cricket Board Shah Nurul Kabir Shaheen and seven others.

Abdul Halim, headmaster of Ishwarganj Uchakhila High School, filed the case with the local magistrate court, reports UNB.

Halim alleged that Kabir and his associates demanded Tk 4 lakh from him in order to make him principal, as the school was later turned into a college.

"I gave Kabir Tk 1 lakh on Oct 25, 2005 and I was suspended as I failed to give him the rest of the money within a given time," Halim said in his case statement.

CASE AGAINST JAMAAT MP
In Comilla, A case was filed with Chouddagram Police Station against former Jamaat lawmaker Syed Abdullah Mohammad Taher and 12 others on Sunday night on charges of extortion and looting fish and fishing nets, reports UNB.

Police said fisherman Shohag Morshed Chowdhury of Dimatoli village of the upazila filed the case at about 11:45 pm.

Shohag alleged that at the behest of Taher, his associates demanded Tk 5 lakh in toll from him on December 15, 2003, as he was cultivating fish taking lease of Jagannath Dighi of the area.

Shohag said though he gave Tk 3 lakh to Taher's men on June 10, 2004, they looted fish from the dighi and fishing nets several times.

CASE AGAINST MAH SALIM
In Bagerhat, former BNP lawmaker MAH Salim has been sued in another extortion case on the same night.

Kamrul Hasan, a contractor, filed the case with Bagerhat Sadar Police Station against Salim and his personal accountant Hasibur Rahman, reports UNB.

The complainant said Salim demanded Tk 6.48 lakh from him on April 13, 2005, as he was constructing a road under LGED in the district involving Tk 2.15 crore.

Kamrul said he gave the former lawmaker Tk 1.80 lakh through four cheques.

The joint forces arrested Salim on March 7 on charges of extortion and land grabbing.