Nayan Bond and his 007 group

The name’s Nayan, Nayan Bond. Actually Sabbir Ahmed is known in his locality as Nayan and a few years ago he dubbed himself as ‘Nayan Bond’. Now all his friends call him by that name, and even the law enforcement has enlisted him as a criminal by that name.

He hasn’t just stopped with the name, but has a Facebook group called 007. But therein the similarities end. While James Bond fights for justice, Sabbir is known in Barguna as a criminal sheltered by influential quarters. No one had so long dared to raise any protest against him or his criminal gang.

Nayan Bond has now come to the limelight as the main accused in the Rifat murder case. Rifat was hacked to death in front of his wife in broad daylight near Barguna Government College. Police say they are searching for Nayan and the prime minister has ordered that he and the other accused be arrested. The High Court has ordered that measures be taken to prevent them leaving the country.

Sabbir would live with his mother in a semi-brick house behind Barguna Government College. His father Abu Bakr Siddiqui died quite a few years ago. Their family runs on the money sent by his elder brother who works in Singapore.

Sabbir passed his SSC exam from Barguna zila school in 2011 and then HSC from Ideal College. Later he would go to college, claiming himself to be an undergrad student, but the college’s principal Abul Kalam Azad on Friday said, “Shabbir is not a student of our college.”

Residents of the town’s Dhanshiri areas said that a few years ago Sabbir had taken up petty theft, snatching mobile phones, forcefully collecting ‘toll’ and such, in order to buy drugs. Behind the scenes was the son of a local influential person. As he began taking and trading heroin, he grew more and more involved with the influential and criminals rings of the town. And all his activities were centred at the government college.

Though he had no official post, Sabbir claimed himself to be a Chhatra League leader and the local people assumed he had close links with the ruling party. This gave him clout on the Barguna Government College campus.

However, district Chhatra League president Zubair Adnan, said, “He (Sabbir) was never with Chhatra League politics or on any committee. No one can prove that. Those were false claims. Everyone in town knows under whose shelter Sabbir carried out all his activities.”

The police said that a few years ago two cases had been filed against Sabbir under the narcotics and firearms laws, but he had been released on bail. He was also granted bail in yet another case two months ago. There are eight cases against him with the Barguna police station, involving drugs, firearms and criminal activities.

Barguna police super Maruf Hossain told Prothom Alo, “There are two narcotics-related cases, one firearms case and five violence related cases against Sabbir. Charge sheets have been submitted in all the cases.”

The local people complain that the people have never been strict about Sabbir as he was protected by powerful quarters of the area.

*This report, originally appeared in Prothom Alo print edition, has been rewritten here in English by Ayesha Kabir.