Criminals on the Run

• Police Operations arrest Criminals in Chattogram District, Solving Murder Cases One After Another

Rafiqul Islam Selim 

Criminals are on the run in Chattogram district. Police operations catch killers, armed men, and drug dealers every day. In recent days, police have arrested suspects in several high profile murder cases. Police have solved the mysteries behind these killings.

Continued operations have now cornered the criminals. Crime is falling, and people feel more at ease. Quick police action after each incident has raised public trust in the police. It has also improved the government’s image.

Under the previous government, Awami League, Chhatra League, and Jubo League criminals controlled every area of the district. Businesspeople and ordinary people lived under their control. Police stood helpless against them. When the student and mass uprising toppled that government, Awami criminals fled the country and abroad.

The criminal world then reorganized. Mr. Sajjad Ali Khan, known as Boro Sajjad, a former Shibir cadre now a fugitive abroad, directed criminals still in the country. Criminals released from jail also organized under his direction and took control of the underworld. Some Awami criminals joined them too.

Boro Sajjad’s group built a huge criminal network under leaders including Chhoto Sajjad, also called Buri’s grandson Sajjad, Mr. Mobarak Hossain Emon, known as David Emon, and Mr. Md. Rayhan. This group had nearly fifty cadres. They held a large stock of weapons. They obtained heavy weapons from separatist groups in the hill areas.

They began asserting control through killings in the city and district, especially in Raozan and Hathazari. They started mass extortion. They attacked homes and businesses over extortion demands, causing vandalism, shootings, and looting. This spread fear among the public.

David Emon led the terror campaign in the city. Rayhan led it in the district. Their activities included murder, extortion, and armed violence. Bodies kept turning up. The violence that began during the interim period continued even after the elected government took office. This spread public fear and damaged the government’s reputation.

Under directions from the top, police moved to rein in the criminals. Metropolitan police initially struggled, but district police operations gradually succeeded in arresting criminals and recovering weapons. David Emon and his group had built a reign of terror in the city.

A special district police team caught him in Jashore before he could flee to India. On the same day, July 29, a district police team raided a house in Senbagh, Noakhali to catch Mr. Md. Rayhan, another top cadre of the Boro Sajjad group. Rayhan narrowly escaped arrest.

After David Emon’s arrest, police carried out further operations and arrested several of his top associates and armed accomplices. Police arrested Mr. Ayub, Mr. Md. Ilias, known as Dama Ilias, Mr. Md. Didarul Alam, Mr. Md. Afsar, and Mr. Mobarak, along with others, for the murder of Jubodal leader Mr. Masudul Haque in Pahartali, Raozan. Police also recovered local and foreign firearms used in the killing.

On June 13, attackers shot the Jubodal leader dead in broad daylight in front of many people. A video of the killing, filmed in cinematic style, went viral on social media and shocked the country. Police arrested Mr. Mohammad Mobarak, known as Kala Mobarak, a shooter for Boro Sajjad’s group involved in this killing, along with three associates and weapons. Police recovered two pistols, including a sophisticated 9mm weapon stolen from a police station, a revolver, a pipe gun, and 23 rounds of ammunition.

Raozan had already seen several shocking murders. Twenty five killings over the past two years gave this area of North Chattogram a reputation as a hub of terror. After David Emon’s arrest, continued police operations against Rayhan and his associates reduced criminal activity in North Chattogram. Police arrested many of David Emon’s and Rayhan’s associates from Raozan, Fatikchhari, and Hathazari.

Police kept up operations to catch Rayhan too. He slipped past police for a second time just two days ago. Police seized a vehicle during an operation in Patiya, but Rayhan escaped in another vehicle, a senior district police official said.

Meanwhile, amid these police operations, another Jubodal leader was killed in Raozan on September 3. Attackers shot Mr. Mohammad Karim dead at Keranihat Bazar. Police launched an operation immediately and later arrested four people in the case.

The arrested men are Mr. Mohammad Selim, Mr. Syed Mohammad Sukkur, Mr. Mohammad Jabed, and Mr. Mohammad Alamin, all from the Urkirchar area of the upazila. Police said a man named Pervez, suspecting Karim of stealing his uncle’s motorcycle, gathered his own group and shot and hacked Karim to death in public.

The theft occurred eight to ten days before the killing. Pervez suspected Karim, a member of his own group, because Karim had faced past allegations of criminal activity. When pressured to return the motorcycle, Karim denied the theft. Pervez then planned the killing. Pervez and two or three others remain at large, and police continue searching for them.

Eighteen days ago, police killed a listed criminal named Mr. Jahedul Islam, known as Pichchi Jahed, in Satkania. After arresting 12 people linked to the killing, police confirmed the murder stemmed from a dispute over the looting of government trees. Investigators found local BNP political links among those involved.

The arrested men are Mr. Jashim Uddin, Mr. Zainal Abedin Manik, Mr. Riduan, Mr. Mohammad Tipu, Mr. Abu Mazharul Islam Ifaz, Mr. Abdullah Al Tushar, Mr. Khorshed Alam Faruk, Mr. Rabiul Hossain, Mr. Abul Kashem, Mr. Habibur Islam Habib, Mr. Mohammad Helal, and Mr. Mohammad Azad.

On the night of August 30, attackers hacked Pichchi Jahed to death in Monowarabad village of Puranagar union in Satkania. Police say Mr. Zainal Abedin Manik had posted on Facebook accusing Pichchi Jahed of cutting and looting government trees from the Puranagar union parishad.

On the night of the killing, Manik and eight to ten others were gathered at a sweet shop in Natunhat Bazar. Pichchi Jahed came and verbally abused Manik and made threats. Angered by this, the group met at Jashim’s shop and decided to punish Jahed. They killed him soon after.

Police are also arresting people involved in extortion cases alongside these murders. In Hathazari, police arrested seven people within 48 hours after someone threatened to kill a doctor over a 1 million taka extortion demand. The arrested men are Mr. Kamrul Hasan, known as Sagar, Mr. Md. Riku, Mr. Tariqul Islam, known as Rohit, Mr. Ahmadullah, known as Masum Member, Mr. Ahmed Reza Shakil, Mr. Md. Manik, and Mr. Nurul Alam.

Police are also cracking down on armed clashes linked to internal party disputes. In Sitakunda, police arrested three men who brandished weapons during a clash between two BNP factions. The arrested men are Mr. Sadek Ali, Mr. Kamrul Hasan, and Mr. Mohammad Hanif. Police arrested Mr. Sadek in Mirsharai and Mr. Kamrul in Chandpur. Police arrested Mr. Hanif in the crime prone Chhinnamul area of Jungle Salimpur in Sitakunda.

On September 1, two groups clashed near Sitakunda municipal center during a rally marking BNP’s founding anniversary. The clash involved followers of Mr. Aslam Chowdhury, an adviser to the BNP chairman, and Mr. Kazi Mohammad Salauddin, former joint convener of BNP’s north district unit. Photos of armed men brandishing weapons went viral in the media and caused nationwide uproar.

Superintendent of Police Mr. Masud Alam said police operations continue to maintain law and order and ensure public safety. He said many suspects have been arrested and many more remain on the run. He said police will show no leniency toward them.

He said each suspect will either be arrested or must surrender before the court, with no other option. He noted that top criminal Mr. Rayhan has now escaped police twice. He said Rayhan too will eventually be caught.