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Published on September 11, 2026
Less than a year into office, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party has instituted a broad-daylight regime of extortion, land grabbing, and procurement rigging under administrative protection.
When the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) took office in early 2026, many international partners and local citizens hoped for a fresh start. The country was promised stable governance, open institutions, and a clear return to the rule of law. However, less than eight months into its term, a concerning pattern has emerged. Across cities and rural districts alike, local party activists and affiliated groups have been increasingly linked to illegal land seizures, systematic extortion, tender manipulation, and public property grabbing.
What makes these developments particularly alarming is how openly they are occurring. Rather than taking place in secret, many of these incidents are unfolding in daylight, often with little to no immediate intervention from local law enforcement. This growing disconnect between official promises and ground realities is raising urgent questions about public safety and economic stability.
In Dhaka and Chittagong, small traders, street vendors and transport operators carry the heaviest burden. Police investigations and local reports show organised political syndicates extracting daily payments from ordinary workers.
148 armed extortionists active across city, concentrated at crime hotspots
According to comprehensive data compiled by the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) in mid-2026, law enforcement identified over 1,280 active collectors and 314 Jubo Dal and Chhatra Dal patrons operating across the capital—with a substantial number connected to local party committees.
DMP List Names 1,280 Extortionists in Dhaka, 148 Armed
These sums raise the price of everyday goods—vegetables, scrap, bus tickets and building materials—for ordinary Bangladeshis.
Where money is not enough, physical seizure follows. In Kuakata, local BNP leaders and activists allegedly led a group of around 150 people to seize 20 shops at Zero Point, lock them, assault traders, and loot goods. Victims say they called the national emergency number; when police arrived, some of the accused allegedly assaulted the traders for contacting authorities.
20 Shops Seized and Locked in Kuakata, BNP Leaders and Activists Accused
Similar occupations of government land, markets, sand quarries, brick kilns, and former political rivals’ properties have been reported from Gaibandha to Tejgaon. In one documented case, a brick kiln owner alleged a local BNP secretary demanded Tk 1 crore, then seized the kiln when refused. In Dhaka’s Tejgaon and Kallyanpur areas, traders and residents describe BNP-linked groups taking over shops, hotels, and even homes previously associated with the previous ruling party.
Control of informal economies—sand extraction, scrap yards, bus counters, footpaths—has become a prize worth killing for. Clashes and targeted murders over these rackets have left BNP activists and rivals dead in Mohammadpur, Karwan Bazar, Mirpur, and elsewhere.
Public infrastructure projects and private investments are also coming under strain. Fair bidding processes are frequently disrupted by organized groups attempting to control state contracts through intimidation.
Railway Tender Blockades (Chittagong CRB): Contested bidding processes within the Bangladesh Railway administration have turned violent. Armed factions linked to local BNP youth wings have physically intercepted rival contractors, blocked document submissions at contractor offices, and assaulted businesspeople attempting to submit legitimate bids.
Chattogram’s Economy Under the Grip of Extortion, Assault, and Commercial Domination
Construction Extortion Syndicates: In residential areas like Pallabi and Mirpur, real estate developers face systematic extortion before breaking ground. Local party-backed groups—often operating under the command of figures residing abroad—demand payouts ranging from ৳1,000,000 to ৳50,000,000. Failure to pay routinely results in armed attacks on construction sites and shooting incidents targeting corporate officers.
The most alarming feature of this rapid decline is the state’s institutional complicity. Instead of restraining party excess, the administrative machinery has largely enabled it.
Muggings rampant, but few are reported or brought to justice
BNP’s senior leaders have issued repeated warnings and spoken of disciplinary measures. A number of local figures have been expelled or served show-cause notices. Yet the police lists, traders’ accounts and continuing violence tell a different story. Some listed extortionists are arrested, but the underlying incentives remain intact. Political affiliation continues to serve as a shield. The same administration that can move swiftly against opponents remains noticeably restrained when those accused carry the ruling party’s banner.
Critics outside the party, among them Liberal Democratic Party leader Colonel (retd) Oli Ahmad, allege that large numbers of BNP activists have moved into the extortion economy since the change of power. Whether the exact figure is precise matters less than the visible reality on the streets.
LDP President Col (retd) Dr Oli Ahmad on Extortion and Governance Concerns
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