Families say getting extortion calls from cell numbers of 3 missing in Kirtankhola capsize

The mobile numbers of three people, who were still missing two days after a speedboat collided with a sand-carrying bulkhead and sank in Barishal's Kirtankhola River on Thursday, were used to reportedly demand money from their relatives.

Police initiated an investigation to find the people behind these phone calls, Sanatan Chandra Sarker, officer-in-charge (OC) of Barishal sadar river police, told TBS today (7 December).

"The mobile numbers used to make demands were active until 2:53pm on the day of the accident [5 December]," he said.
Mentioning that none of the mobile phones have been recovered yet, Sanatan said authorities are investigating the technology used to make such calls.

The three missing people are the speedboat's driver Al Amin, Russell Amin, 25, and Sajal Das, 30. 

Sajal's relatives said a call was made from his mobile number to his mother's phone, demanding Tk25,000. 

His uncle Shankar Das said the family filed a general diary (GD) over the matter with the Kotwali model police. 

"These people are also making similar demands for money from the relatives Al Amin and Russell," he said. 

Confirming the filing of the GD to the newspaper, Kotwali police OC Mizanur Rahman said, "We believe the phone numbers have been cloned." 

On 5 December, the Barishal-bound speedboat with at least 10 passengers onboard capsized after colliding with the sand-carrying bulkhead. While seven passengers managed to swim ashore, the other four, including the speedboat driver, initially remained missing. 

The body of one of the missing passengers, identified as Jalis Mahmud, was recovered from the river several hours after the accident. 

River police official Sanatan said the driver of the bulkhead, Khalek Majhi, has been arrested. 

He said Omar Faruk, a sub-inspector of the river police, filed a case the same day, naming both the speedboat and bulkhead drivers and three unidentified others as accused.