A court in Brahmanbaria on Sunday sentenced two individuals identifying themselves as journalists to five years’ imprisonment in an extortion case.

The convicts are SM Ali Azam and Ashiqur Rahman Roni.

Judge Masud Parvez of the Brahmanbaria Additional District and Sessions Judge Court-2 delivered the verdict in the afternoon. The accused were present in the courtroom during the announcement and were later sent to jail.

According to the case statement, SM Ali Azam and Ashiqur Rahman Roni visited Sharifpur East Government Primary School in Ashuganj upazila on September 14, 2021, introducing themselves as journalists. They reportedly sought access to various bills, vouchers and official documents of the school.

When the headmaster informed them that relevant authorities handle such records, they allegedly became angry and threatened to publish false reports against the teachers unless Tk 20,000 was paid as extortion. They also misbehaved with staff members.

At one stage, local residents and teachers detained SM Ali Azam, while Roni fled the scene on a motorcycle. Later, the detained suspect was handed over to police on instructions from the Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO).

Following the incident, headmaster Md Habibur Rahman filed a case with Ashuganj Police Station under sections 419, 385 and 506 of the Penal Code.

Police later submitted a charge sheet after investigation.

After hearing witnesses and arguments, the court handed down the verdict.

Plaintiff’s lawyer Syed Tafsir Ahmed Tanvir said the convicts had been involved in extortion at different institutions using the identity of journalists, and the verdict was delivered based on evidence.

Ashuganj Press Club President Selim Parvez said journalism is a responsible profession and those convicted were not mainstream journalists, adding that they misused press identity cards and social media pages to deceive people.