Rape is a very sensitive and hated matter and the police have no other option but to record these cases when victims come to them with such complaints. Exploiting these bindings of the law enforcers, an organised group has long been implicating innocent people in gang-rape cases and taking handsome amount from them through blackmail.

According to law enforcers, the ringleader of the syndicate is Alamgir Selim alias Mostafa Selim, son of late Hanif and Amena Begum of Telpara (Chamta) at Naria upazila in Shariatpur. He is wanted in at least 17 criminal cases with the Jatrabari Police Station.

Selim allegedly used female sex workers and others to trap innocent people and blackmail them with false cases.

In one such incident, a woman aged 27, hailing from Sharifbagh at Kutubpur at Fatullah in Narayanganj, filed a gang-rape case (No. 03) with Kafrul Police Station in the capital on 4 February.

The female is an alleged sex worker and a member of the syndicate, according to the police. Selim made her file the case.

In the case, 20 people have been stated as the direct ‘rapists’, while three others, including a woman, have also been accused. Moreover, 10-12 unknown people have been accused as the associates.

The complainant stated in the case that she was taken to Golden Residential Hotel at Shewrapara in the name of sending her to Malaysia on 2 February.

In the hotel, there were also five-six other women. At one point, she was taken to a room and the 20 people raped her one after another all through the night, according to the case statement.

In the case, senior reporter of the Bangla daily Samachar Mohammad Saifullah was made the prime accused. It is stated that Saifullah, Aptajul and Safia by a CNG-run auto took her to Shewrapara bus stand from Fatullah at 4pm on 2 February. Later, Sagor took her to the hotel.

The Daily Sun and police separately discovered that Saifullah was in Barishal and Patuakhali on the day and time.

That day, Saifullah appeared before the court of Executive Magistrate Omar Faruk at Bauphal in Patuakhali as a plaintiff of another case, in accordance with the court record.

A police report placed at Police Headquarters recently stated after a scrutiny into the CDR of Saifullah's mobile phone that his location was Bakerganj in Barishal on the time and day of the incident.

Rubel Hossain, 35, who is the accused no. 11, was at Gobindapur in Jatrabari during the time and day of the incident.

When contacted, Saifullah told the Daily Sun that he unfortunately fell prey to another female member of the gang and he was forced to marry the female.

He said, “I filed a case against her and some others with a court. I suspect that she made me accused in the gang-rape case.”

On Selim, he said, “He is the general secretary of the so-called Human Resource and Health Foundation. He is the ringleader of the gang. The plaintiff of the gang-rape case is a member of the foundation and a member of the gang.”

Saifullah claimed that he does not know other accused in the case and he never went to the hotel.

However, as per police investigation, the CCTV footage of the hotel entrance and inside shows the female, who filed the gang-rape case,  alone entered the Golden Residential Hotel at Shewrapara at 8:12pm on 2 February and left it at 8:49am on 3 February.

“When she was coming out of the hotel, she paid some money to a man,” said the report.

As per observation of the female plaintiff’s mobile number, she talked to the supervisor of the hotel Monir’s mobile number at 4:56pm on 2 February.

She also talked to him at 4:57pm, 5:07pm, 5:38pm, 8:02pm and 8:07pm on the   day.

After the case, Kafrul police arrested Sagor Khan, an accused in the case. The police report quoted Sagor that the female using her name as Rupa, which is not her real name, entered the hotel for sex trade.

Sagor arranged a client named Yamin for her. The female plaintiff stayed with Yamin at the hotel at night.

“After scrutiny into CCTV footage, Yamin has been identified.  After analysing the mobile number CDR, the location of Yamin was at the hotel that night. Besides, Yamin had a talk with the plaintiff through their mobile numbers at 10:45am and at 10:45am on 3 February,” says the police report.

Billal Madbar, Akhter Khan and Jamal Madbar have been made accused No. 3, 4 and 5, respectively.

Akhter told the Daily Sun that he, Jamal and the female plaintiff and another woman named Sumi were arrested by immigration police at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport when they were trying to go to Malaysia in the guise of husbands and wives on 6 October 2023.

Billal was involved in the matter.

Police filed a case against the arrestees and Billal with Airport Police Station on the date, and their passports were seized. Later, the arrestees were sent to jail. Billa’s passport could not be seized as he was in Malaysia at that time.

Akhter said, “The female accused them after being annoyed with them as she landed in jail.”

Billal echoed the same, and they said that they never went to the hotel.

Mamun (pseudonym), an employee of a hotel at Darussalam, told the Daily Sun that he knows Arif and Sagor, the accused in the case, who were already arrested, from earlier.

“Being requested by his families, I tried to contact the plaintiff of the case so that the duo can be saved from the case. Finally, I came to know that Alamgir Selim is leading the case. I met Selim a few days ago. I then paid Tk50,000 to him so that the lawyer of the plaintiff does not veto when the lawyers of the duo will seek bail from them.”  

Mamun recorded a phone conversation between him and Selim.

In the conservation, “Selim said that Tk15 lakh will be needed for dismissal of the case. Sagor will need Tk1.50 lakh for his release from the case. The lawyer of the plaintiff will not disturb Sagor.”

Mohammad Murad is an accused in the gang-rape case, but he is not aware of the case. In the case, he has been stated as an employee of the Golden Residential Hotel, but he works at a workshop.

Seeking not to be named, a senior officer of Mirpur Crime Division under Dhaka Metropolitan Police told the Daily Sun that they had no option but to record the case as the rape is a sensitive issue.

The description in the case did not match with the reality after scrutiny into CCTV footage and other evidence, said the officer.

Neither Selim nor the plaintiff of the case could be contacted for comment.

The Daily Sun made several attempts to contact Selim for a statement by phone, but he did not respond, despite receiving six calls. He also did not reply to a text message.

Attempts were also made to reach the female complainant by phone. Although her mother answered the call, she said she was completely unaware of the matter.

Selim, also publisher and editor of Crime News Media, through his female gang members filed gang-rape cases against former officers-in-charge (OCs) of Hatirjheel, Mugda and Jatrabari Police Stations.

On 9 March 2022, a woman went to Jatrabari Police Station to file a case against her ex-husband.

By the by, she had become acquainted with Selim who assured her of punishing her former husband.

Later, Selim through the woman filed a fake gang-rape case against her ex-husband and a number of others with a Dhaka court.

In the case, a residential hotel at Demra was stated as the incident place, and the owner of the hotel was made an accused.

The hotel owner Joy said that Selim demanded Tk2 lakh from him as extortion money.

As he did not meet his illegal demand, he filed the case, which was later proved false.

The plaintiff said that she filed the false case after being fallen into the trap of Selim.

One Papon was accused in a human trafficking case with Jatrabari Police Station by Rizia Begum who is an alleged member of the Selim-led gang.

Later, Selim demanded Tk3 lakh from him.

After getting a lion’s share of the money, Selim through his lawyer told the court that Papon in the case is another man.

Later on, as Papon did not pay the full money, he was accused in a gang-rape case filed with Hatirjheel Police Station in 2022.  In the case, former OC of the police station Abdur Rashid was also made an accused.

On 1 March 2021, the same Rizia filed a gang-rape against BIWTA officer Sanjib and some others with Sabujbagh Police Station.

After three months, one Sima filed a gang-rape case against Sanjib with Khilgaon Police Station.

Selim through the women filed the cases, said police, Papon and Sanjib.

Sahabuddin Kalu, a security guard of Jatrabari area, said that Selim through Sima Akhter filed a gang-rape case against him and some others with Khikgaon police station.

Later, he paid Tk1.20 lakh to Selim for getting released from the case.