‘They targeted the elderly affluent’

Police yesterday claimed to have arrested members of a gang that used to steal personal information of elderly affluent people and blackmail them to pay anywhere between Tk 5 to 50 lakh.

The information was revealed after police arrested four people, including two sisters, following drives in the capital's Mohammadpur, Hatirjheel and Badda areas from Thursday to Sunday, said Harun-Ur-Rashid, deputy commissioner (DC), Tejgaon Division of Dhaka Metropolitan Police.

The arrestees are Parvin Akhter Nupur (28), her sister Shefali Begum (40), Rubel Mahmud Anik (27), customer service staffer of a telecom operator, and Shamsuddoha Khan Babu (40), a travel agent.

Isa, another gang member who introduced himself as a lawyer, is still absconding, police said.

The Tejgaon DC said it is an organised gang of five to six members that target mostly high-ranking service holders, rich businesspeople and industrialists who are over 60 years old.

"We have information about 20-25 victims. A staffer of a telecom operator was helping the gang by giving away personal information, which is provided during SIM registration. If it is so, then how will our personal information remain secure?" he said.

The officer said Shamsuddoha works at a travel agency in Motijheel, where financially solvent people come regularly for travel purposes. He used to collect their phone numbers and give them to Parvin.

Parvin then collected personal information of those people through the customer centre staffer using the numbers.

Introducing herself as a social worker, journalist or job seeker, Parvin used to call them to start an affair. Throughout the relationship, she used to record personal conversations on her phone, and at one point, would threaten to reveal their relationship to the victim's family.

If they refused to give money, Parvin's sister Shefali would tell the victim that they will file a case under women and children repression act through a lawyer, police said.

Describing their profiles, the Tejgaon DC said Parvin studied till 12th-grade. With her five-year-old daughter, she stays at a luxurious flat in the capital's Niketan area, but does not have a formal profession.

She pays Tk 1 lakh for the flat's rent. Her daughter's school fee is Tk 10,000. She goes to a gym at Banani area, where she pays Tk 30,000 monthly. Earlier, she filed a complaint with Gulshan Police Station, claiming that six of her lipsticks, worth a total of Tk 90,000, went missing.

Her sister Shefali studied till third-grade, and sells clothes at a shop in Chandni Chawk Market.

Shamsuddoha receives a salary of Tk 15,000. He stays at Shefali's flat in Mohammadpur. Rubel works at Nabisco of Tejgaon Industrial Area, police said.

The police official said Parvin embezzled a hefty amount of money from at least 20 people.

He said Rubel used to give her information in exchange for Tk 10,000.

Among the arrestees, Parvin and Anik were on three-day remand.

The officer said many people have lost considerable wealth after giving money to the gang, while many do not want to complain in fear of their social status being tarnished.

He said they will see if there is any negligence by the telecom operator. How a service centre staffer could provide confidential information will be investigated.