“Wait and see”—criminal Md Rayhan of Raozan, Chattogram, posted this threat on his Facebook account on 20 August, addressing the police. Four days later, in another post, he wrote to his followers: “All the younger brothers, get ready. Make a list of whose houses in Raozan need to be vandalised.”
Ten days after the threat, at around 9:30 pm last Thursday, Mohammad Karim, 35, a Jubo Dal activist, was shot dead in public at Keranihat Bazar in Raozan. A group of armed men arrived on motorcycles, hacked him and opened fire before fleeing. Terrified locals did not even dare remove his body, which lay on the road for nearly an hour. Police later went to the scene and recovered the body.
About six hours after the killing, at around 3:00 am in the early hours of Friday, Rayhan uploaded a video of the shooting to his Facebook story. Local residents and members of civil society said the criminal Rayhan was effectively “challenging” the police.
Police sources said Rayhan escaped from the roof of a house during a police operation in Noakhali on 29 July. Although police have failed to arrest him, his open threats and a series of killings in Raozan have raised questions about the law-and-order situation. Questions have also been raised over why action cannot be taken against armed groups even after authorities receive advance information about their movements and mobilisation.
According to law enforcement sources, 27 people have been killed in Raozan since 5 August, 2024, when the Awami League government fell. Of these, 20 killings were linked to political disputes. During the same period, more than 350 people, including those injured by gunfire, were wounded in over 100 incidents of gunfights and clashes.
Md Nazimul Haque, additional deputy inspector general of the Chattogram Range, said a proposal had been made to set up four Armed Police Battalion (APBn) camps to bring the criminals in Raozan and surrounding areas under control. The proposal includes deploying a platoon of personnel at each camp, installing artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled cameras along the routes used by the criminals, and monitoring their movements with thermal drones. Members of the Range Reserve Force would also be deployed for patrols.
Rayhan is known as a follower of Sajjad Ali, a criminal who has fled abroad. He faces 15 cases. His alleged role in the 13 June public shooting death of Jubo Dal leader Masudul Haque Chowdhury in the Pahartali Chowmuhani area of Raozan also emerged in statements given by accused individuals in the case. Police have yet to arrest him.
How Karim was killed
Eyewitnesses said that at around 9:30pm last Thursday, as Karim entered Keranihat Bazar, a group of armed men arriving on four to five motorcycles surrounded him. One of them attacked Karim on the neck and head with a kirich, a type of machete. When he fell to the ground bleeding, several others opened fire. After ensuring his death, the attackers fled the scene on motorcycles.
According to the police inquest report, Karim sustained gunshot wounds to his abdomen, thigh and buttocks. One bullet entered through the side of his waist and exited through his abdomen. There were also cut wounds on his neck and forehead. Police said there were no closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras in the vicinity of the crime scene.
The body was handed over to the family yesterday, Friday, after an autopsy at the Chattogram Medical College morgue. Police said Karim had at least 10 cases against him involving allegations including theft, drugs, robbery, snatching and abduction. He had also been imprisoned several times.
Karim’s family lives in the Amanbazar area of Hathazari. Local residents said Karim once worked as a CNG-run autorickshaw driver. He later went abroad with the help of his elder brother. After returning home, locals alleged, he became involved in drug trafficking and other criminal activities.
Karim’s wife, Bilkis Akter, told Prothom Alo that several criminals had been calling Karim for days, asking him to attend a meeting in the village. He left home on Thursday afternoon. Later that night, the family learned that he had been shot dead.
Why no preventive action?
Questions have been raised over the authorities’ failure to take preventive measures against criminals despite a series of public killings in Raozan. Armed men are moving openly, issuing threats on social media, yet authorities have been unable to identify their locations and movements and arrest them.
Asked about the matter, Chattogram District Police Superintendent Md Masud Alam told Prothom Alo that police had arrested suspects in all the killings in Raozan and recovered weapons. Operations were under way to arrest Rayhan and others involved. Police surveillance had also recently been increased on criminals who had been released on bail.
However, the police superintendent said no link to any criminal group had yet been established in Karim’s killing. He said Karim may have been killed over a dispute related to drugs. The investigation is taking all possibilities into account.
Md Sakhawat Hossain, former chairman of the Department of Criminology and Police Science at the University of Chittagong, said the police need to strengthen intelligence gathering and their network of informants to monitor the movements of criminals and criminals. Informant allowances for field-level police officers must be paid on time. The morale of the police needs to be restored, and they must be given the opportunity to work independently. At the same time, if criminals receive political patronage or protection, those providing such support must also be brought under the law.