3 Arrested for Extortion at Pabna Hospital Project Site

Police have arrested three men on charges of demanding a Tk 20 lakh extortion fee, assaulting security guards, and vandalizing the site office of the under-construction Pabna Medical College Hospital.

The arrests were made during a raid by the District Police's Detective Branch (DB) on Thursday (May 21) night. The arrestees—identified as Masud Rana alias "Killer Masud" (35), Sajal Ali (32), and Ismail Hossain alias "Naxal Ismail" (35)—are all residents of Pabna Municipality.

The incident occurred on Tuesday (May 19) at the hospital's construction site in Hemayetpur. Additional Superintendent of Police (Crime) Rezinur Rahman provided details of the incident during a press briefing at the Pabna Police Superintendent's office on Friday (May 22) afternoon.

According to police, a group of miscreants approached Rafiz Uddin, the site manager for Sajin Construction, demanding a bribe of Tk 20 lakh. When the demand was refused, the group forcibly entered the site around 1:00 pm. They severely beat two security guards, Habibur and Imran, looted Tk 1 lakh from an office drawer, and vandalized the premises before fleeing. Locals later rescued the injured guards and admitted them to Pabna General Hospital.

Following the attack, Rakibur Rahman, the Pabna office manager for Sajin Construction, filed a case (Case No. 34) at the Pabna Sadar Police Station on May 20, naming four specific individuals and 10 to 12 unidentified suspects.

The Tk 250-crore Pabna Medical College Hospital project is currently in its final stages of construction. Additional SP Rezinur Rahman confirmed that legal action is underway against the three arrested individuals, and a drive is ongoing to apprehend the remaining suspects involved in the attack.