Bangladesh, Sept. 15 -- Faria Akter Toma had once grabbed the limelight with her controversial slogans outside the residence of former Kishoreganj MP Fazlur Rahman. Now, she is back in the headlines -- but for all the wrong reasons.

Last week, Toma was arrested and sent to jail on charges of extortion.

According to police, she and several others entered a house on Road No. 6 of Uttara's Sector 13 in the early hours of Thursday. After introducing themselves as "coordinators" of the July Uprising, they demanded Tk 1 million from garment businessman Delwar Hossain, claiming they could arrange for him to be cleared from a criminal case.

That night, the family handed over Tk 550,000. The suspects then warned that the remaining Tk 450,000 ha...