Police listing extortionists, planning drive against them

Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner SM Sazzat Ali has said the police are making a list of extortionists and will soon launch drives to arrest them.

He made the announcement during a meeting with police officers, students, and residents of the Ramna area at the Institution of Diploma Engineers in the capital’s Kakrail yesterday.

“Extortion is causing the prices of daily necessities to surge, exacerbating the sufferings of lower- and middle-income groups.”

He warned that no one involved in extortion would be spared. “We are preparing an updated list of extortionists, and it will be completed within a day or two, and then we will take action against them.”

Meanwhile, Sazzat Ali expressed his desire to bring order to the city streets, as residents suffer greatly from the city’s perennial traffic problem.

“Political parties have the right to hold programmes, but if they are arranged on the streets haphazardly, daily commuters get stuck for several hours.”

Noting the increasing number of battery-run rickshaws, the DMP chief urged the authorities to enforce a licensing system for these vehicles so that they don’t appear on the road so easily, causing congestion.

Regarding street vendors, he said it is inhumane to evict them entirely and put them out of a living.

However, he urged street vendors to practice discipline and refrain from occupying the roads, also requesting them not to pay extortion.

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