Businesspeople allege extortion, warn of halting car sales next month
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Automobile dealers in Dhaka observed a half-day work stoppage and formed a human chain on Sunday, protesting what they described as ongoing extortion and attacks on their sales centres.
They warned that if the threats and extortion continued, automobile sales, vehicle releases, and registration activities would be halted from next month.
Dealers also said they would stop paying government revenues unless those involved were arrested.
Businesspeople staged their protest, forming the human chain in Dhaka’s Baridhara area, where showrooms remained closed from 10am to 1pm.
Members of BARVIDA and car dealers from various parts of the city joined the event to demand stronger action against extortionists.
The president of the BARVIDA (Bangladesh Reconditioned Vehicles Importers and Dealers Association), Abdul Haq, who spoke to the media after the demonstration, told reporters that the attacks and threats had been continuing since August.
He said car dealers were receiving extortion demands through WhatsApp messages sent from fake or foreign numbers -- sometimes with photos of AK-47 rifles.
“So far, cocktails have been exploded in front of 12 sales centres. Threats are made over the phone saying business cannot continue without paying money,” Haq said.
The BARVIA president informed that a general diary had been filed with police, but no arrests had been made.
“Businesspeople are now living in fear. If this is not stopped within this month, we will stop releasing and registering cars from next month,” he warned.
Dealers said at least 12 homemade bombs had exploded in front of showrooms in the Baridhara and Pragati Sarani areas in recent months.
The targeted centres, according to them, included Bismillah Car Centre, Turbo Auto, Begh Auto, Car Selection, Hello Car, Zoom Auto, and Biswas Imports.
They said extortion demands often followed the cocktail explosions, with other nearby showrooms receiving phone threats that their shops would be attacked next.