5 RU teachers receive death threats, extortion demands

Police said they are investigating the complaints. 

The teachers reportedly targeted are Professor Abdullah Al Mamun of the Department of English, Professor Gaur Chandra Pal of the Department of Mathematics, Professor Jannatul Ferdous of the Department of Social Work, Professor Shahriar Hossain of the Department of Theatre, and Professor Kaushik Sarker.

Professor Shahriar said the caller initially contacted him seeking money to cover the legal expenses of detained workers.

“I could not speak to them the first time because I was busy. But when they called again about two hours later, I spoke with them for quite some time. They asked how much money I could give. The caller identified himself as the younger brother of Siraj Sikder.''

Shahriar said he immediately informed the university’s proctor and later filed a GD with Motihar Police Station.

“I immediately called the proctor. Proctor Mahbubur Rahman told me that similar fraudulent calls had been made to several university teachers every few days,” he added.

Shahriar also said police had traced the phone number to Madaripur and found that the SIM card was registered in the name of a man identified as Mufti Rezaul Karim.

Professor Abdullah Al Mamun, another teacher who received a call, said the caller identified himself as a member of the Sarbahara group.

“When they introduced themselves as Sarbahara, I did not prolong the conversation and hung up. Later, I learned that several other teachers at our university had received similar calls.''

Motihar Police Station OC Arjun said police had received complaints about the calls and that a GD had been filed.

“We have received such complaints. A GD has also been filed. The matter is under investigation. We hope to resolve the issue soon,” he said.