DU BCL leaders accused of demanding Tk 10 lakh extortion, 7 shops closed
Seven shops in the Ananda Bazar area, adjacent to Amar Ekushey Hall of Dhaka University, have been kept shut since March 13, as two leaders of Bangladesh Chhatra League of the hall unit demanded Tk 10 lakh as extortion from the shops' owners.
The accused BCL leaders are Enayet H Monon, president of Amar Ekushey Hall unit BCL and its General Secretary Imdadul Hasan Shohagh.
They, however, denied the allegations.
The allegations came 46 days after BCL announced the new hall committee.
This correspondent visited the spot this morning and witnessed that the owners of the shops are moving around. The employees of the shops were loitering here and there. None can open the shop out of fear.
On March 13, BCL leaders Enayet H Monon and Imdadul Hasan Shohagh went to the shops around 8:00 pm along with some of their followers, according to the owners of the shops.
They asked them to shut down the shops as the owners did not comply with their demands. They also threatened and misbehaved with them.
Wishing to be anonymous, an owner told The Daily Star, "The BCL leaders demanded Tk 10 lakh from us. Later, they forced us to shut down our shops as we failed to pay the amount."
Contacted, Enayet H Monon, president of Amar Ekushey Hall unit BCL, said he was not aware of the incident. Terming the allegation wrong, the BCL leader said it is a conspiracy.
Asked why owners will plot conspiracy against him, he urged this correspondent to scrutinise the conspiracy.
Another accused Imdadul Hasan Shohagh echoed Enayet. "If someone does any unethical activities by using the organisation's name, we will take action after investigation once we get a complaint."
Prof Ishtiaque M Syed, provost of the hal,l said they are yet to get any official complaint in this regard.
"We urge the victims to take help from law enforcement agencies if they have information and evidence," Prof AKM Golam Rabbani, DU proctor told The Daily Star.
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