Jubo Dal leader, 6 others arrested over extortion at Dr Kamrul’s kidney hospital

The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) has arrested seven individuals, including Jubo Dal leader Moin Uddin, who were accused in an extortion case at the hospital of well-known kidney specialist Kamrul Islam in Dhaka’s Shyamoli.

RAB confirmed the arrests in a statement on Monday morning.

According to Wing Commander MZM Intekhab Chowdhury, director of RAB’s Legal and Media Wing, Moin was arrested from Dadantala village in Narail’s Kalia.

He said, “Moin was hiding at his aunt’s house in that village. He is being brought to Dhaka and will later be handed over to Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station.”

He also mentioned that the remaining six individuals were arrested separately from different locations, bdnews24.com reports.

Prof Kamrul is known for providing low-cost kidney treatment and transplants. Last Friday, news emerged that extortion demands were made at his hospital by individuals claiming to be Jubo Dal members. Following the incident, a delegation led by central Jubo Dal President Abdul Monayem Munna and General Secretary Mohammad Nurul Islam Nayan visited the hospital around 1:30 am. They spoke with Prof Kamrul and assured him that the issue would be resolved.

Abu Hanif, the in-charge of the operation theatre at CKD Urology Hospital founded by Kamrul, filed a case over the incident

The case names Moin Uddin, 42, a local Jubo Dal leader, along with seven to eight other suspects.

What Happened

Prof Kamrul said that after August 5, a man named Moin, a resident of Road No. 4 in Shyamoli, took a contract to supply food to the hospital. However, he was recently removed because he was charging excessively high prices for food items.

He said, “I do not charge my patients for food. The staff also eat at the hospital. We run the hospital on a minimal margin. He was quoting very high prices for food items, so he was removed.”

“I personally went to the Krishi market to supervise and purchase (food) items. After that, he came with some people, created disturbances with the hospital staff, and demanded money.”

The physician said that most of the hospital’s patients come from rural areas. “The food that costs me around Tk 200 to provide would cost them about Tk 1,000 if they bought it outside. That’s why we do this. The hospital has a procurement committee that buys from whoever offers the lowest price.”

“But this man was billing rice that costs Tk 66 per kg at Tk 77. For 1,000 eggs, he charged Tk 9,500, while I personally bought them from the same shop for Tk 8,100. If we don’t buy this way, it’s not possible for me to run the hospital.”

Prof Kamrul said that when the staff stopped purchasing from Moin, he began issuing threats—saying he would abduct and harm them. “Suddenly one day, he claimed that someone owed him Tk 500,000 and demanded that the money be paid.”

“He used to come with a group of people and claim to be a Jubo Dal worker, which made everyone afraid to confront him. Even the hospital security staff were scared of him.”

He added, “Today, he went to a staff member’s house early in the morning and pressured him for money. The staff member hid in a room. I called the police and the army, but only the police came.”

“There had been a General Diary (GD) filed against him before. But there was no visible effort from the police to arrest him. I don’t know whether they are afraid of him or not.”

The noted physician further said, “The staff member who was threatened has been working here for 30 years and is an important operation theatre staff member.”

“Now his demand was to either dismiss that staff member, or to pay him Tk 500,000, or to reinstate his contract.”

Prof Kamrul also mentioned that although Moin had been supplying goods since August 5, he had only become aggressive in the past month.

“I have informed many officials—the OC, the SP, a DIG, and even an additional IG. But it seems he does not listen to anyone.”

When asked, Officer-in-Charge Monirul Islam of Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station said, “They are supposed to submit a written complaint. Even without it, we are trying to arrest the accused Moin Uddin.”