One held after Barishal real estate company MD assaulted, forced to sign cheques
A court ordered police to register an FIR after CCTV footage of the alleged assault inside the MD’s office went viral on social media.
Police today (5 July) arrested a man accused of assaulting the managing director (MD) of a real estate company in Barishal and forcing him to sign blank cheques and stamp papers after CCTV footage of the incident surfaced on social media.
Barishal Metropolitan Police Commissioner Ashiq Sayeed said the suspect, Mostafizur Rahman Litu, was arrested this afternoon following a court order to register the complaint as a First Information Report.
The victim, Abdul Aziz Hawlader, chairman of Bakla Developers Pvt Ltd and managing director of Agrani Housing Company, alleged that the attack took place on the night of 27 June inside the office of Bakla Developers.
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"Several men entered my office, assaulted me physically and mentally, and forced me to sign six stamp papers, one completed cheque, and one blank cheque," he told The Business Standard.
According to Aziz, the accused – Mostafizur Rahman Litu, Abul Kalam Azad, and Abdul Malek Durani -- were previously his business partners.
He said Litu and Azad sold all their shares of Bakla Developers in 2023 after settling their financial claims.
Litu and Malek were also associated with Agrani Housing Company, which is currently under a court-imposed injunction, he added.
"They attacked me due to a prior grudge. Later, they filed a false complaint with the police claiming that I owed them money. The assault left me seriously ill, and I am now living in fear for my safety," he said.
Aziz's lawyer, Abdul Rashid Khan, said the court ordered police to register the complaint as an FIR on 2 July after reviewing the CCTV footage.
While being taken into police custody this afternoon, Litu defended his actions, alleging that Aziz had withheld a substantial amount of money owed to him and others.
"As we failed to recover our dues, our families have been going through severe financial and mental hardship. The incident occurred while we were trying to recover the money," he told reporters.
Meanwhile, Barishal city and district units of Jubo Dal rejected claims circulating on social media identifying Litu as one of the organisation's leaders.
At a press conference, Jubo Dal Vice-President HM Taslim Uddin said Litu had no connection with the organisation, had never held any party position, and had not even participated in its rallies or programmes.
He alleged that the claims were being deliberately spread on social media to tarnish the image of Jubo Dal.
