Five held over alleged extortion-linked attack on Dhaka embroidery factory

Workers surround Adabor police station at midnight demanding action after factory owner alleges repeated extortion demands

Five people have been arrested over an attack on an embroidery factory in Dhaka’s Adabor after workers surrounded the local police station at midnight demanding action.

Adabor Police Station chief (OC) Abdul Malek said the factory owner, Mustafizur Rahman, filed a case naming eight people and eight to 10 unidentified suspects.

“Five have been arrested so far. Efforts are under way to detain the remaining suspects,” he said on Sunday.

The arrestees are Rohan Khan Russell, 30, Maruf, 35, Hasan, 23, Md Rayhan, 22, and Md Roman, 24.

Mustafizur owns an embroidery factory on Road No. 12 in Monsurabad. He alleged that the accused had been demanding extortion payments from him for some time.

According to the case statement, around 9:45pm on Saturday, workers were leaving the factory after receiving their wages when the accused attempted to snatch cash and mobile phones from them.

The workers retreated inside the factory in fear, the complaint says. The attackers then allegedly entered the premises armed with samurai swords, machetes and knives, again attempting to seize money and phones.

Two workers, Tofayel and Hafiz Ahmed, were injured when they tried to resist and were attacked with sharp weapons, according to the factory owner. The assailants later fled after issuing threats. The injured were taken to hospital.

Police said the factory workers later gathered outside Adabor Police Station around midnight, staging a protest and chanting slogans while demanding justice.

Following the demonstration, police conducted a drive and arrested five suspects, including the alleged ringleader, Russell, the OC said. Efforts are continuing to arrest the others.