04 September, 2026 – Faridpur, Bangladesh: Eight Hindu college teachers in Boalmari, Faridpur, were allegedly threatened over the phone and asked to pay extortion by individuals claiming to be members of the “Sarbahara Party.” The callers reportedly threatened to kill the teachers and their relatives and warned of severe consequences if the money was not paid.
A General Diary (GD) was filed at Boalmari Police Station on Thursday afternoon by Paresh Kumar Pal, an associate professor at Kazi Sirajul Islam Women’s College.
The GD reportedly names four other teachers who received similar threats: Debashish Roy, Niloy Kumar Saha, Sajal Kanti Biswas, and Pradip Kumar Saha, all associate professors at the college. Three additional teachers subsequently reported similar allegations: retired teachers Robin Laskar and Swapan Kumar Biswas, and serving associate professor Sanjib Kumar Roy.
According to the GD, Paresh Kumar Pal received a phone call at around 11:57 a.m. on Thursday while he was at the college. The caller reportedly identified himself as “Gautam Biswas” and claimed to be a member responsible for the Boalmari, Alfadanga and Madhukhali areas on behalf of the “Sarbahara Party.” The caller allegedly threatened to kill Paresh.
The caller reportedly claimed that several of their associates were currently in prison and that a large amount of money was needed to secure their release. Each teacher was allegedly instructed to send Tk 25,500. Those who refused were reportedly threatened with unspecified “dire consequences.”
Associate Professor Debashish Roy said he was also called and asked to pay Tk 100,000. When he said he could not afford the amount, the caller allegedly told him to collect and send the money in the same way he would arrange funds if his son were shot in the leg and required medical treatment.
Another teacher, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the callers allegedly threatened them with a fate similar to what happened to the family of retired teacher Ganapati Chakraborty in Rangpur if they failed to pay.
Police initially suspect that a fraudulent group may have used the name of an extremist organization to carry out the alleged extortion. Boalmari Police Station Officer-in-Charge Mostafizur Rahman confirmed the GD and said police were treating the matter seriously and would bring those responsible to justice.
Associate Professor Niloy Kumar Saha said that eight Hindu colleagues received similar threats within approximately two hours, between 10 a.m. and noon on Thursday. He said the teachers have felt insecure since the incidents. According to him, one of their former colleagues had already sent Tk 5,000 to a bKash number.
