Planned in afternoon, attack at night, 2 gangs supplied men

A dispute over land and an access road culminated in a calculated plot to attack a housing project—hatched inside a local eatery and executed at night by hired operatives from two criminal gangs.

According to investigative sources, this armed assault on the New Gini Housing Project near ECB Chattar in the capital unfolded following a meeting in the afternoon and a subsequent gathering later in the day.

Sources said that following the afternoon strategy meeting, assailants gathered at two distinct locations. Approximately 200 attackers made their way to the site on foot and aboard five pickup trucks. At around 10:30 pm, the group launched their attack by opening fire at the main gate.

The attackers comprised members of criminal groups led by Ibrahim and Mamun from Mirpur in the capital. Ibrahim, the convener of the Bhasantek Thana unit BNP (Bangladesh Nationalist Party), is listed in police records as ‘Killer Ibrahim’.

The planning meeting took place in the afternoon inside an eatery near ECB Circle. By 4:00 pm, one group gathered in the field opposite the Dewanpara Two-Storey Mosque in Bhasantek, while another assembled in the Manikdi area.

Sources involved with the investigation state that armed with firearms and wooden batons, around 200 men travelled from those gathering points to the New Gini Housing Project via five pickup trucks and on foot. At approximately 10:30 pm, they breached the project by opening fire at the entrance.

Investigation sources indicate that operatives from two Mirpur-based criminal gangs took part in the attack. One faction is headed by Ibrahim, convener of the Bhasantek Thana unit BNP, and the other by Mofizur Rahman Mamun of Pallabi.

Ibrahim’s loyalists constituted the majority of the force. A contractor named Bikash Chandra Shah was entrusted with the task of recruiting men from both gangs.

During the assault on the New Gini Properties housing project on the night of 26 September, assailants also vandalised and ransacked the studio of content creator Salman Muqtadir, located within the premises. Later that night, Salman released a video detailing the incident, triggering widespread outrage across social media and public platforms.

Police have so far arrested seven individuals in connection with the attack and vandalism. The detainees include Major General (retd) Golam Mohiuddin Chowdhury, Mizanur Rahman, Shahriar Mahmud, Shah Alam, Mamun, Aslam, and Munna. The fourth named accused, Golam Mohiuddin Chowdhury, was the latest to be apprehended on Wednesday.

Police confirmed that all seven suspects are currently in remand. It has been clarified that the arrested suspect Mamun and gang leader Mofizur Rahman Mamun are two different individuals.

The investigation has been transferred from Cantonment police station to the Gulshan Division of the Detective Branch (DB) of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police.

AFM Anwar Hossain, Deputy Commissioner of DB Gulshan Division, informed Prothom Alo that the attack stemmed from a land dispute.

He confirmed seven arrests to date and stated that efforts are underway to apprehend the remaining suspects. He added that investigations are ongoing on who orchestrated the plot, participated in the assault, and supplied the arms, with gathered intelligence currently undergoing verification.

Multiple officers involved in the investigation told Prothom Alo that a planning meeting took place in an eatery near ECB Chattar in the afternoon. CCTV footage from the establishment captured 13 individuals present, two of whom have been identified: the arrested suspect Shahriar Mahmud and contractor Bikash Chandra Shah.

They said efforts were ongoing to identify the remaining 11 individuals. Investigators confirmed that the meeting served as the primary forum for planning the assault, with both Shahriar and Bikash actively involved.

Further inquiries revealed that Bikash works as a building construction contractor across various housing projects. A dispute over land had been brewing between Nazim Uddin Bhuiyan, the owner of the New Gini Housing Project, and several individuals including Golam Mohiuddin Chowdhury. Bikash had been awarded the contract to construct a building on the disputed land.

Investigative sources claim Bikash was tasked not only with construction but also with negotiating an access road with the owner of New Gini. However, Nazim Uddin refused to grant access—a refusal investigators believe served as the direct catalyst for the attack.

Bikash Chandra Shah could not be reached for comment regarding his alleged role in the planning and recruitment of assailants, as he remains in hiding. Police stated that operations are underway to trace and arrest him.

According to investigative sources, the decision to strike was finalised during the eatery meeting, with Bikash assigned the task of gathering the manpower. Bikash reportedly reached out to Ibrahim and Mofizur Rahman Mamun through Shah Alam Onik, joint convener of the Muktijoddha Projonmo League. Operatives from both groups were subsequently deployed as hired mercenaries.

Several residents of the Dewanpara area in Bhasantek told Prothom Alo that Ibrahim maintains a business office opposite the Two-Storey Mosque. At around 4:00 pm on the day of the incident, men brought in from the Bhasantek slum and Pallabi gathered in the field in front of the mosque.

Local residents alleged that Masum alias ‘Forsa Masum’, a key lieutenant of Ibrahim’s gang, rounded up the attackers and led them to the New Gini Housing Project.

Investigative sources noted that a significant portion of the attackers came from the Bhasantek slum. Two individuals arrested at the scene with firearms were also residents of the area and confirmed loyalists of Ibrahim.

A police source claimed that Ibrahim’s followers—including Juboraj, Shahed, Shakil, Rupchan, Bablu, and Bukpora Sumon—were directly involved in the attack. All of them face prior allegations of involvement in various criminal activities across Bhasantek.

Locals further alleged that Ibrahim’s operatives routinely descend upon any prospective building site in Bhasantek, forcing developers to hire their earth-filling services and purchase construction materials—such as bricks, sand, and cement—exclusively through them.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a property owner told Prothom Alo that Ibrahim’s men had approached him demanding he buy materials from them. When he declined, they opened fire outside his under-construction property, ultimately forcing him to purchase sub-standard bricks and sand from Ibrahim.

Police confirmed that operatives belonging to Mofizur Rahman Mamun’s gang in Pallabi also participated in the attack on New Gini.

According to the law enforcement, members of this gang operate as hired muscle to forcibly clear and seize land across Mirpur and adjoining areas, and are implicated in numerous criminal activities across Mirpur and Pallabi.

Mofizur Rahman Mamun previously served as the president of Ward No. 91 BNP under Pallabi Thana. He was expelled from the party on Tuesday following allegations of murder, land grabbing, extortion, and other criminal acts.

Nazim Uddin Bhuiyan, owner of the New Gini Housing Project, also confirmed to Prothom Alo that operatives from both Ibrahim and Mamun’s gangs were directly involved in the attack on his property.

Attempts were made to contact Ibrahim and Mofizur Rahman Mamun via telephone to obtain their responses to the allegations of dispatching armed goons, but neither could be reached.

As the violence escalated, six police members arrived at the scene. Investigative sources stated that the assailants fired directly at the responding officers. The identities of those who opened fire on the police, as well as other armed attackers present during the attack, are yet to be established.

The First Information Report (FIR) filed in connection with the case alleges that approximately 50 rounds were fired by the attackers during the attack. Police, on the other hand, stated that they fired five rounds of bullets to bring the situation under control.

Efforts were made to reach content creator Salman Muqtadir for his account of the attack on his studio and his complaint, but he was unavailable for comment.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) requested Salman Muqtadir’s bank account details and transaction histories, acting on information provided by an intelligence agency.

Nazim Uddin Bhuiyan launched his real estate business in the ECB Chattar area under Cantonment police station in 2011. His New Gini Housing Project currently spans an area of 10 to 12 bighas.

The investigation highlighted an ongoing dispute over an adjacent 35-katha plot of land. A visit to the location on Friday revealed the plot without any construction, bordered on three sides by local residential dwellings and on the fourth by the New Gini Housing Project. The central point of contention involves using the internal road of the New Gini project as an exit route for that land.

Nazim Uddin told Prothom Alo that Golam Mohiuddin had sold 15 kathas out of the 35-katha plot to him. Nazim had subsequently filled the land with soil and erected a boundary wall, which was demolished by attackers following the political shifts on 5 August 2024.

Nazim alleged that Golam Mohiuddin, without handing over possession of the land, publicly announced plans to construct a high-rise building on the site while demanding an access road through the New Gini Housing Project. When Nazim refused to grant access, Mohiuddin deployed hired goons to carry out the attack.

The owner of New Gini, Nazim Uddin, faces land-related allegations of his own. In July, a man named Mizanur Rahman filed a lawsuit against Nazim at Cantonment police station, accusing him of selling an eight-and-a-half-katha plot in Joar Sahara to a third party without paying the full purchase price.

According to the case statement, a deed of agreement (Bayana) was executed in 2024 for the land at a price of Tk 54 million. Nazim paid an initial instalment of Tk 10 million, with the remaining Tk 44 million due within five months. The plaintiff alleges that Nazim defaulted on the payment and instead sold the land to another buyer.

Addressing allegations of using political influence to grab land during the Awami League administration, Nazim Uddin claimed that business rivals had repeatedly harassed him by falsely aligning him with various political factions.

He stated that in 2022, he was arrested and imprisoned under the Special Powers Act across multiple police stations in Dhaka on false charges of ties to the BNP and Jamaat.

He further noted that cases were filed against him at Cantonment police station during the July mass uprising, and following 5 August 2024, his adversaries have continued to target him by labeling him a ‘collaborator of the Awami League’.