Innocent Citizens Trapped in Chattogram's 'Case Trading' Syndicate: Allegations of Extortion and Harassment Rise

In recent times, allegations of harassing innocent citizens by implicating them in political and criminal cases, accompanied by a multi-million taka 'case trading' extortion racket, have surfaced in Chattogram. Local influential quarters and broker syndicates are blackmailing ordinary people by expanding the list of unnamed accused in various police stations. To evade arbitrary arrest, numerous businessmen, professionals, and common citizens have fled their homes, leaving their families in severe economic and social distress. This trend of weaponizing the law to settle personal and political scores has created deep anxiety and a sense of insecurity across the port city.

Investigations reveal that thousands of unnamed individuals have been accused in over a hundred cases filed in Chattogram over the past few months, serving as a primary tool for this extortion syndicate. The brokers initially target wealthy or vulnerable individuals and subsequently demand hefty sums of money, promising to drop their names or prevent arrest. Victims allege that this extortion network operates through a collusion of local political elements and certain corrupt police officers. While instances of case trading following political transitions have occurred in the past, the scale and institutionalized nature of the current situation have surpassed previous records.

In response to the escalating situation, the Chattogram Metropolitan Police (CMP) and district police administration have claimed that directives have been issued not to arrest anyone without specific evidence. Human rights organizations and the local bar association have expressed deep outrage over these mass lawsuits and harassment, demanding immediate screening and verification of the cases. Victim families are organizing press conferences and submitting memoranda, seeking intervention from the highest levels of the administration. It is reported that the Police Headquarters has initiated a process to identify complicit officers by forming a special monitoring cell.

Ensuring transparency in the police filing and investigation process is now critical to upholding the rule of law and protecting civil rights. It is virtually impossible to curb this case-trading syndicate without addressing the colonial-era legal loophole of naming hundreds of unidentified accused in FIRs. The state must guarantee that the judicial process is never weaponized as an instrument of oppression against innocent citizens. Failing to insulate the police force from political influence and restore professional integrity risks completely eroding public trust in the justice system.