Four arrested for extorting money from specialist doctors in Dhaka

The Detective Branch (DB) of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) has arrested four individuals accused of extorting prominent specialist physicians. The suspects allegedly demanded payments in U.S. dollars and orchestrated physical attacks on those who refused to comply.

DMP Additional Commissioner and Chief of the Detective Branch, Shafiqul Islam, announced the arrests during a press conference at the agency’s headquarters on Minto Road on Sunday. According to authorities, the criminal ring systematically targeted at least five high-profile doctors at both public and private hospitals, including Professor Md. Asadur Rahman of the Ear, Nose, Throat and Head-Neck Surgery department at Dhaka Medical College Hospital and Professor A.K.M. Aminul Haque of the Internal Medicine department at Anwar Khan Modern Hospital.

Investigators revealed that the suspects utilized food delivery applications to obtain the residential addresses, chamber locations, and personal information regarding the families of their targets. Once a victim was identified as financially solvent, the group initiated contact via telephone to demand extortion payments in foreign currency.

The criminal activities escalated into physical violence in recent months. On July 27, five individuals intercepted Professor Aminul Haque’s vehicle in Dhanmondi to issue threats. On the night of August 17, Professor Asadur Rahman was assaulted in the Shantinagar area. Following the intervention of bystanders and the police, one suspect, identified as Jibon alias Adil, was apprehended at the scene. Professor Rahman subsequently filed a case at the Paltan Model Police Station, reporting that he had been contacted by an unknown caller demanding 15,000 U.S. dollars shortly before the attack.

The Detective Branch launched an investigation to identify the remaining perpetrators. In follow-up operations, detectives arrested Sani Saha, 38, in Shanir Akhra and Fatin Israk Labib, 20, in Khilkhet on Saturday night. Including the suspect apprehended at the scene of the assault, a total of four members of the seven-person ring are currently in custody.

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According to intelligence reports, Sani Saha acted as a mastermind for the operation. Saha, who worked in Singapore between 2022 and 2025, reportedly turned to extortion to recover approximately 50 million taka in losses incurred through illegal hundi currency trading. While in Singapore, Saha met an associate named Alamgir Hossain, who tasked him with gathering sensitive data on affluent individuals, including vehicle registration numbers and movement patterns.

Fatin Israk Labib, who acted as a recruiter for the group, admitted during interrogation that he hired five young men—Abu Bakr, Ratul, Iban, Jibon, and Sabbir—for 100,000 taka to execute the assault on Professor Rahman.

Officials confirmed that the investigation is ongoing, as the syndicate had also begun targeting senior government officials. Additionally, the Detective Branch is actively pursuing a separate criminal network currently issuing threats to various embassies via email.