Expatriate’s under-construction building fired upon in Chattogram after ransom demand goes unmet

Two unidentified youths opened fire at the gate of an expatriate-owned under-construction residential building in Chattogram late Monday after a ransom demand was not paid, police said. 

No one was injured in the incident.

The shooting occurred around 10:30 pm on Monday at Runa Tower in the Hamzarbagh area under Panchlaish police station. 

Police said the attackers fired two rounds before fleeing the scene. They have not yet been identified, and efforts are underway to arrest them.

The building is owned by Haji Yunus, whose two sons live abroad. 

According to police, a few days earlier a voice message from an internet number was sent to one of the sons in the Middle East demanding Tk 50 lakh in ransom.

Chattogram Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner (North) Hasan Mostafa Swapan confirmed the details, saying investigators are examining the extortion demand alongside the shooting. 

CCTV footage and other evidence are being collected to identify the perpetrators.

Police and local sources noted that similar shootings and attacks demanding extortion have targeted under-construction buildings in areas including Bayezid and Hamzarbagh in recent months. 

The name of the Sajjad Group has surfaced in some of those cases, though police have not confirmed any link to the latest incident.

Extortion-related violence has been reported in Chattogram on several occasions this year. On January 2 and February 29, shots were fired at the residence of Smart Group Managing Director and former Chattogram-16 MP Mujibur Rahman amid alleged ransom demands. 

On July 13, the office of internet service provider DDN on Baklia Access Road was attacked and vandalised; the company owner later alleged that Mobarak Hossain Emon, alias David Emon, who is abroad, had demanded a one-time payment of Tk 2 crore plus Tk 10 lakh monthly. 

On July 26, an under-construction house belonging to wholesale rice trader Jasim Uddin in Hathazari’s Bara Dighi Par area was attacked with a cocktail explosion after a reported Tk 20 lakh ransom demand.

Police are continuing to investigate both the shooting at Runa Tower and the associated extortion allegation.