According to the first information report (FIR), Bhuiyan, a former LGRD and cooperatives minister, had the land in his name to set up an office for BNP at Badarkhali in Chakoria in 2002.

Badarkhali Krishi Uponibesh Samabay Samity owns the land where the then ruling party built the office at a cost of Tk 10 lakh in 2003, it added.

Moulavi Abdur Rahman and Kafil Uddin, members of the Samity, filed the case on May 4.

They alleged that Salauddin Ahmed, former state minister for communications now on detention, assisted the BNP general secretary in the act violating the cooperative law. Bhuiyan was aided and abetted also by the then president and general secretary of the Samity.

The complainants said the accused have been pressing them to withdraw the case since its filing.

Meanwhile, UNB reports that separate extortion cases were filed yesterday against former BNP lawmakers MAH Salim in Bagerhat and Sardar Shakhawat Hossain Bakul in Narsingdi.

Razia Makbul, a health worker, filed the case against Salim and six BNP leaders and workers with Kochua Police Station.

With this, 12 cases have been filed against Salim on charges of extortion and land-grab.

In her complaint, Razia said the accused demanded Tk 5 lakh from her and said he would kill her in the event of refusal. Earlier, he tried to grab her land with a one-storey building on it during the construction of Majeda Begum Agriculture Technology University College in Goyalmath area. The institution was named after Salim's mother.

Razia claimed that she gave Salim Tk 50,000 at his Mehedikunj house in Bagerhat on June 10, 2006.

The joint forces arrested him at his Gulshan residence in Dhaka on March 7 this year.

In Narsingdi, construction contractor Hamidul Haq Kajal of Monohardi filed the case against Bakul and four others with a local court.

He claimed that in December 2001 Bakul had demanded that he pay him Tk 2 lakh. As Kajal refused to comply, he was kidnapped by the ex-lawmaker's men and later released in exchange for Tk 40,000.

The court ordered Monohardi police for an investigation into the allegation.