A case has been filed against the editor and publisher of online news portal Face the People, Shaifur Rahman (Saifur Sagor) and its reporter, Mohammad Yousuf, on charges of extortion and defamation.
The case was filed on Sunday by Md Kamruzzaman, chief executive officer of Mastul Foundation.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Hasibuzzaman took cognisance of the complaint and directed the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) to investigate the allegations and submit a report by August 10.
Advocates Md Emdadul Haque Lal, Azad Rahman and Enamul Haque Sunny represented the plaintiff.
According to the complaint, the two accused visited the Mastul Foundation office in connection with publishing reports on the Face the People online portal.
The complaint alleges that they demanded Tk 20,000 for publishing a report, Tk 15,000 for publishing a press release on behalf of the foundation, and a monthly payment of Tk 50,000 for continued coverage of the organisation's activities.
It further alleges that after the foundation refused to meet the demands, the accused threatened to damage its reputation.
The plaintiff also alleged that Face the People published a report on June 28 that defamed the foundation, causing it financial losses estimated at Tk 20 crore.
The complaint states that the plaintiff intends to file a separate case seeking compensation for the alleged financial loss.