A man was killed in a mob beating over allegations of extortion in Rajbari’s Pangsha upazila on Wednesday night.
The incident occurred around 11pm in Hosendanga village of Kalimahar Union.
The deceased was identified as Amrito Mondol alias Somrat, the leader of the criminal group “Somrat Bahini”.
Local residents also detained Somrat’s associate, Selim Hossain, and handed him over to police along with a pistol and a one-shooter gun recovered from his possession. Selim is currently receiving treatment under police custody at the Pangsha Upazila Health Complex.
Somrat, son of Akshay Mondol of Hosendanga village, had reportedly moved to India in 2014. According to locals and police, a criminal gang known as “Somrat Bahini” later emerged in the area in his name, allegedly involved in murder, extortion and other crimes.
Police and local sources said Somrat, accompanied by 10–12 associates, went to the house of Shahid Sheikh in Hosendanga village to demand extortion money. When family members raised an alarm shouting “robbers,” locals rushed to the spot. As Somrat and his accomplices tried to flee, villagers chased them and eventually caught Somrat and Selim about one kilometre away in Basua village, where they were beaten by the crowd.
Police later recovered Somrat’s body from the scene and arrested Selim with firearms.
Amiyo Mondal, elder brother of Somrat, said that the police called him early in the morning. He had no prior knowledge of the incident. His brother had moved to India in 2014, and they had lost contact since then. He is unaware of when his brother returned to the country. Now, as a brother, he must oversee the postmortem and funeral rites.
Pangsha Model Police Station OC Sheikh Moinul Islam said Somrat had existing cases, including one for murder and another for extortion. Preparations are underway to file a murder case against unidentified suspects in connection with his death.
Rajbari Superintendent of Police Mohammad Manjur Morshed said Somrat was a notorious extortionist, involved in criminal activities on both sides of the international border and frequently travelled between India and Bangladesh. The body has been sent to Rajbari Sadar Hospital morgue for autopsy.