Khulna mayor Tayebur held on extortion charge

Police last night arrested Khulna City Corporation (KCC) Mayor Sheikh Tayebur Rahman in the city's Gulshan area in an extortion case filed with Khulna Sadar Police Station at midnight on Thursday.
Tayebur is also on the latest list of 35 corruption suspects published by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) recently.
A special team of police, led by the officer-in-charge of Gulshan Police Station, went to the mayor's apartment (house-58, road-95, Gulshan-2) at around 9:45pm and arrested him.
The Gulshan police later handed him over to Cantonment Police Station.
Talking to The Daily Star, OC of Gulshan Police Station Mohammad Abdul Mottalib said Khulna police requested him at around 8:45pm to arrest the mayor because of the extortion case.
After receiving case documents, police went to the mayor's apartment and arrested him, the OC added.
When asked why he was handed to Cantonment police, the OC said they did it, as the condition of the hajat at Gulshan Police Station was not good to keep the mayor there.
Earlier, Our staff correspondent from Khulna reported that city Mayor Sheikh Tayebur Rahman and KCC Public Relations Officer (PRO) Sardar Abu Taher were sued for extortion at midnight on Thursday.
M Hafizur Rahman, suspended procurement officer of KCC, filed the case with Khulna Sadar Police Station.
In the FIR (first information report), Hafizur stated that the city mayor demanded Tk 3 lakh in bribe from him for his promotion to the next higher post.
The complainant further said he was forced to pay Tk 2.90 lakh to the city mayor through the public relations officer in two instalments about 18 months ago. But he got suspension order instead of promotion.
Both the mayor and the PRO denied the allegation of receiving the money. The mayor said the case of extortion is part of a conspiracy against him by a vested interest group.
Earlier on October 30, Mayor Tayebur Rahman and four others, including PRO Abu Taher, were accused of corruption in a general diary (GD) filed by Hafizur Rahman with the same police station. In the GD, he brought 15 allegations against the accused.