Expatriate’s house looted in N’ganj over extortion refusal

A gang of armed miscreants allegedly attacked and looted the house of a Malaysian expatriate at Sonargaon upazila of Narayanganj district on Thursday after his family refused to pay extortion money. 

The attackers reportedly decamped with cash, gold ornaments and electronics worth around Tk 45 lakh.

The attack occurred around 9:45 PM at Char Goaldi Konapara area of Pirojpur union of the upazila.

According to the complaint, the gang led by Abdul Jalil, reportedly broke through the main gate armed with sharp weapons, iron rods and machetes. They held the family members hostage and forcibly took the keys to the wardrobes.

The victims claimed the attackers looted 15 bhoris of gold, Tk 5 lakh in cash, a laptop, four smartphones and an iPad. 

Zakia Begum, wife of the expatriate stated that the group had been demanding extortion money for a long time. Taking advantage of the absence of male family members, the suspects carried out the attack when the demands were not met.

Before fleeing, the attackers allegedly left a mobile phone number, instructing the family to call for a compromise. They also threatened to kill the family members and set the house on fire if a large sum of money was not paid.

Zakia Begum, filed a written complaint with Sonargaon Police Station on Friday afternoon naming, Abdul Jalil and 12 to 15 unidentified accomplices.

Sonargaon Police Station officer-in-charge (OC) Golam Sarwar confirmed that a complaint has been received.

The matter is under investigation, and necessary legal action will be taken, the OC stated.

HMR/TZ