A section of complainants in cases filed after the August 5 political changeover are now extorting money from some of the accused, DMP Commissioner SM Sazzat Ali said yesterday.

"A new trend has now emerged where complainants are calling the accused and demanding money, promising to remove their names from the cases or withdraw the cases," he said while talking to the executive committee of the Crime Reporters' Association of Bangladesh (CRAB) at his office.

"I think this is one type of extortion," the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) chief said, adding that some police personnel are also involved in the illicit practice.

The DMP commissioner vowed action against these complainants and police personnel, saying he already ordered officers-in-charge of the concerned police stations to sue the complainants on extortion charges.

He mentioned that he passed such an order to the officer-in-charge of Bhatara Police Station on Saturday to file an extortion case against a complainant who "made so many accused with an ill motive".

Along with ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina and some top political leaders, the complainant included the names of many affluent people from his neighbourhood.

"Now, he is taking money from each of these accused," the DMP chief elaborated.

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He indicated that the charges in these cases were related to incidents that took place during the 15-year Awami League rule and the deadly crackdown on protesters during the uprising. "The incidents are real, but 200, 300 or even more people were made accused."

Around 1,500 people lost their lives and nearly 20,000 others were injured during the July uprising that culminated with Hasina's ouster and flight to India on August 5, Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus said in his address to the nation on November 17.

Family members of the victims filed many cases with different police stations. Their neighbours and activists of different political parties also field many cases accusing several hundred people.

This paper earlier reported that many of the neighbours and activists filed the cases without permission from the injured victims or the families of the dead. These complainants implicated many people from their home districts though the incidents occurred in Dhaka city.

The Daily Star also reported that many complainants appealed to the courts to remove the names of some of the accused, saying their names were "mistakenly" included.

In the meeting with the CRAB leaders, DMP chief Sazzat said neither the complainants nor the police have the authority to withdraw a case. Only the home ministry can do it.

Additionally, the complainant cannot remove names from the case; only the investigation officers can do so after completing their investigation, he said.

"We will deal with the matter with a heavy hand and take legal action against such complainants," Sazzat said.

The accused with no involvement in these incidents, including journalists, do not need to worry as the police will not harass or arrest any innocent person, the DMP chief said.

Only the people found to be involved will be named in the charge sheets, he said.

"The cases will not be scrapped as the incidents are real. We will build the cases differently by keeping some of the accused [after completing investigation]. So, journalists in these cases will be automatically relieved," he added.