DHAKA // A Bangladeshi member of parliament filmed naked with a woman in his office was forced to undress at gunpoint by a gang who used the footage to extort money from him, police said yesterday.
Officers rested five people, including three women, on charges of blackmailing the lawmaker who is allied with the government, the assistant police commissioner, Abdul Ahad, said.
"They ordered him to strip. One female blackmailer became nude and the others forced the MP to make a video with her," Mr Ahad said.
The incident took place in the capital Dhaka in May and the gang allegedly demanded five million taka (Dh224,000) from the legislator - identified as Abdul Jabbar by media - or threatened to release the film on the internet.
"The lawmaker gave them 1.8 million taka immediately," Mr Ahad said, adding that he had seen the video where "it is evident" that the legislator was forced to act at gunpoint.
He denied there had been any sexual contact between the MP and the naked woman.
The parliamentarian from the Jatiya Party, an ally of the government, told Bengali daily Prothom Alo that the alleged criminals had gained access to his office by saying that he needed to sign some papers.
