Abdur Razzak Riyad, former acting convener of the Combined Private University Unit of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, has confessed to participating in an extortion attempt and expressed remorse, stating he was driven by financial desperation.

Riyad made the confession before a Dhaka court on Sunday following the completion of a seven-day remand in police custody. He is one of several individuals named in an extortion case filed at Gulshan Police Station on July 27.

“I come from a poor background. I couldn’t resist the lure of money,” Riyad reportedly told the court during his voluntary statement, seeking forgiveness for his actions.

Riyad was arrested on July 26 while allegedly trying to extort money from the Gulshan residence of former MP Shammi Akhter, who had previously held a reserved seat in parliament. Following his arrest, Riyad was expelled from the student movement he once represented.

In his court statement, Riyad admitted he had on previous occasions cooperated with police in identifying and helping apprehend individuals labeled as “fascists.” He recalled that on July 17, he contacted the Deputy Commissioner of Gulshan Zone through Zakir Hossain Manju, senior vice president of the same student organization.

Riyad informed the DC that Shammi Akhter was present at her Gulshan home. The DC then directed the local police to take appropriate steps. That night, around 2 AM, Riyad and several associates—including Manju, Jane Alam Apu, Sabab Hossain, Atik Shahriar, Sadakaun Siam, and Tanim Wahid—arrived at Gulshan Police Station. However, the station’s officer-in-charge advised them to wait until dawn before taking any action.

Later, with police support, the group attempted to raid Shammi Akhter’s residence. The operation, led by the station’s investigation officer, ended unsuccessfully around 7:30 AM when the former MP could not be located.

Riyad revealed further details about a second visit to the house. He said that after retrieving Shammi’s AirPods during the first visit, he and Apu returned them around 10 AM. During the visit, Apu allegedly told Shammi’s husband, Siddiq Abu Zafar, that Shammi was in the house and they would turn her over to police—prompting Zafar to offer money to avoid confrontation.

According to Riyad, Apu demanded Tk 50 lakh, but only Tk 10 lakh was available at the time. The two men allegedly split the amount equally. Later that day, Riyad sent three others—Md. Ibrahim Hossain Munna, Siam, and Sadman—to collect the remaining Tk 40 lakh. When he joined them at the residence, police caught them in possession of the money and arrested them.

Court officials confirmed that Riyad and the three others appeared before the magistrate on Sunday. Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md. Sefatullah recorded Riyad’s statement and ordered him to be placed in jail. The three other accused—Md. Ibrahim Hossain, Sadakaun Siam, and Sadman Sadab—were also remanded to judicial custody.

Earlier, on July 27, the court had granted a seven-day remand for the four accused. A minor suspect, Md. Aminul Islam, was sent to a juvenile detention facility in Gazipur. Meanwhile, Jane Alam Apu, a former joint convener of the Bangladesh Democratic Student Council, is currently under a four-day police remand as per court orders issued on August 2.

The extortion case was formally lodged by Siddiq Abu Zafar in the early hours of July 26, naming six individuals as the primary accused.