Television presenter Farzana Brownia on Wednesday filed a case accusing five people including the head of news at Channel i, Shykh Seraj, on charge of fraud and extortion.

The case was filed with the court of Dhaka additional chief metropolitan magistrate Hasibul Haque.

According to court records, the magistrate accepted Brownia’s statement and instructed the Criminal Investigation Department  to investigate the allegation.

The court set November 12 as the deadline for CID to submit its report.

The four other accused are — Zahir Uddin Mahmud Mamun, Mukit Majumdar Babu, Abdur Rashid Majumdar Parvez, and Riaz Ahmed Khan.

Farzana Brownia’s complaint also mentioned that all five people are involved in the Awami League’s politics.

According to the case statement, Brownia had been employed as the marketing manager at Channel i, with a monthly salary of Tk 1 lakh. She also served as the presenter and director of the show Swarnakishori.

The dispute arose in 2018 during the quota reform movement, when she publicly supported students involved in the protests.

On October 11, 2018, she was abruptly banned from the television channel without formal notice. When she verbally protested, the accused informed her that she would continue receiving her salary until she was officially dismissed in writing.

Based on this understanding, Brownia claims she is owed Tk 79 lakh in unpaid wages, covering the period from October 2018 to September 2024.

Despite sending a legal notice through her lawyer, the accused did not respond and instead allegedly threatened her, demanding Tk 50 crore as extortion.