Faces behind crimes have changed, the rackets remain

At the GEC intersection in Chattogram city, Jubo Dal activist Jihadur Rahman was first stabbed and later shot dead over the hanging of a political banner. Two leaders of the Chhatra Dal are also among the accused in the case. An investigation has found that the killing was rooted in a struggle to establish political control in the area.

In the nearly two years since the July mass uprising, more than 50 large and small clashes, shootings, attacks and acts of vandalism have taken place between two factions of the BNP in Chattogram city. Four people have been killed and more than 100 injured in these incidents. There have also been allegations that criminals were hired to attack political opponents in order to “teach them a lesson.”

Prothom Alo analysed 15 incidents involving killings, attacks, clashes and land grabbing.

An analysis of police and court records, party decisions, statements from victims and local sources, and information gathered on the ground found that most of the incidents emanated from efforts to establish supremacy. This struggle for control has been linked to allegations of land grabbing, extortion, contract work, revenue from ghats and markets, and demands for payments from construction projects.

From 28 June to 30 July, Prothom Alo spoke to more than 100 people in at least 30 areas of Chattogram city. The investigation found that political changes have also brought changes in control over sources of illicit income in Chattogram. Previously, these areas were dominated by people affiliated with the banned Awami League, Jubo League or Chhatra League. But following the July mass uprising, new faces have taken control of old extortion networks involving ghats, billboards, railways, construction work, government land and transport. In some places, the perpetrators were directly BNP leaders; elsewhere, leaders and activists of Jubo Dal and Chhatra Dal were involved; and in other cases, people claiming to be followers of senior leaders were accused of land grabbing, intimidation and extortion.

The incidents analysed include the killing of Zubayer Uddin in a clash over control of a turf field in Chandgaon on 20 September, 2024; the shooting at MES College on 18 November; the shooting in Kazir Dewri on 15 December; the killing of Jihadur Rahman at GEC intersection on 21 March, 2025; the killing of Sazzad in Bakalia on 25 October; the killing of Sarwar Hossain in Bayezid on 5 November; control of Saltgola Ghat and collection of money; the grabbing of Shafiul Bari’s plot in Khulshi; the grabbing of khas land in Tulatuli; threats issued at a railway official’s office at CRB on 16 February, 2026; vandalism of property after extortion demands were not met on 27 April; an attack on police in Dampara on 5 May; a shootout over government land at Foy’s Lake on 5 June; an attack on contractor Kartik Ranjan Shil while he was submitting a tender for a railway project on 30 June; and the earlier assault of another contractor, Humayun.

Chattogram Metropolitan Police Commissioner Hasan Md Shaukat Ali told Prothom Alo, “A criminal has no identity. Regardless of what identity they may have, no one is being given any exemption. We are filing cases and making arrests.”

However, Prothom Alo’s investigation suggests that the rate of punishment is low compared with the scale of the incidents. In some cases, no legal action has been taken. Instead, individuals have merely been expelled from party posts or their committees dissolved.

The transfer of control over land grabbing and extortion in Chattogram began on 5 August, 2024. The first killing stemming from an internal BNP conflict over this control took place on 20 September, 2024. That afternoon, two factions of the Jubo Dal clashed over control of a turf field at Chandgaon Sports Zone in the old Chandgaon area of the city. Zubayer Uddin, 26, was killed in the clash.

The day after the killing, the city Jubo Dal committee was dissolved. Mosharraf Hossain, joint secretary of the dissolved city Jubo Dal committee, and Nurul Amin, its agriculture affairs secretary, were expelled from all party positions, including their primary memberships. Both were known as followers of Mosharraf Hossain, also known as Dipti, the president of the dissolved city Jubo Dal committee.

Seventeen people have been accused in the case filed with Khulshi police station over the killing of Jihad at GEC intersection on 21 March last year. Among the accused are Shariful Alam Tuhin, member secretary of the city Chhatra Dal, and Nur Alam Sohag, member secretary of Khulshi thana Chhatra Dal.

Nur Alam Sohag is a follower of Shariful Alam Tuhin. Tuhin is a follower of Mosharraf Hossain Dipti. Although he currently holds no official position, Dipti remains an important figure in questions of control over various activities in Chattogram city.

On 25 October last year, Chhatra Dal activist Md Sazzad was killed in a shooting in the Bakalia Access Road area. Most of the 17 accused in the case are leaders and activists of the BNP and its affiliated organisations. Among them are Borhan Uddin, an aspirant for a Jubo Dal position, and Nazrul Islam, a leader of Tanti League. They identified themselves as followers of former Chhatra Dal leader Gazi Siraj Ullah. Gazi Siraj, however, has denied having any association with them.

The case statement says that Mayor Shahadat Hossain had ordered the removal of banners put up by criminals and extortionists using his photograph. After Jubo Dal activist Md Jasim removed one such banner, he was abducted and beaten. When people went to rescue him, gunfire was directed at leaders and activists of the Jubo Dal and Chhatra Dal. Sazzad was killed in the shooting.

Sazzad’s father, Mohammad Alam, said he hoped the accused, Borhan, would not be able to use his political identity to obstruct justice.

Mohammad Sahed, former general secretary of the city Jubo Dal, however, claimed that Borhan was not a member of their organisation.

A leader of the Swechhasebak Dal has been named in connection with the alleged grabbing of a plot worth Tk 30 million in Khulshi. The six-katha plot on Nuria Madrasa Road in Khulshi Lake Valley Society is owned by SM Shafiul Bari. He says he bought the plot in 1982 and had a semi-permanent structure there. The plot was allegedly grabbed on 15 October 2024. When he protested, he received death threats.

Shafiul filed a general diary (GD) at Khulshi police station and lodged a complaint in court. After investigating the case, Sub-Inspector Shaukat Ali of Khulshi police station submitted a report to the court on 29 December, 2025.

The police report said Shafiul’s plot had been forcibly and illegally occupied and livestock were being kept there. It recommended legal action under the Land Crime Prevention and Remedy Act against two brothers, defendants Sahab Uddin Akand and Enamul Haque Akand. As prime defendant Jamal Uddin had died during the proceedings, the report recommended that he be discharged from the case.

A visit to the site on 19 July found the plot enclosed by a brick wall. A cattle farm called “Akand Agro Farm” has been established inside. Local residents said the plot had previously been surrounded by a tin fence. After it was occupied, a brick wall was built around it.

Rajib Uddin Akand, son of the late Jamal Uddin, is a joint convener of the city Swechhasebak Dal. Sahab and Enamul are his uncles.

Local residents alleged that after the political changeover on 5 August, Rajib’s influence enabled members of his family to take control of the plot. However, none of the residents in the area was willing to speak on the record, citing fears for their safety.

Rajib Uddin Akand denied the allegation that he had used political influence to help his family members take control of the plot. He told Prothom Alo, “I am distant from my uncles. I have never been to that plot. I know nothing about this.”

Local sources also said that Rajib is known to be a follower of Jubo Dal leader Dipti.

Shafiul Bari, the owner of the plot, is currently suffering from cancer. He told Prothom Alo, “I am afraid to go to the property I bought myself. The police investigated and submitted a report saying that the plot had been occupied. Even then, there has been no resolution so far.”

Wakil Hossain, also known as Boga, a former joint convener of the city Swechhasebak Dal, is a listed criminal in police records. He is an accused in 17 cases filed over various charges, including extortion, drugs and explosives. Residents of Pahartali, Akbar Shah and Khulshi police station areas say they have been suffering from extortion, land grabbing and the use of firearms by his gang. He was expelled from the Swechhasebak Dal on 8 June following an open shootout over control of government land.

Police said two groups exchanged gunfire on the night of 5 June over control of government land in the Foy’s Lake area along the boundary between Khulshi and Akbar Shah police stations. Eight people were injured and two were arrested.

Wakil is alleged to have taken control of the land after the political changeover on 5 August, 2024. Recently, Rajib, president of the Akbar Shah thana Swechhasebak Dal, turned his attention to the land. When his group attempted to take control of it on 5 June, a clash broke out between the two sides.

Wakil has also been accused of vandalising property after extortion demands were not met. Sheikh Md Arif, a resident of the DC Pool residential area in Khulshi, owns three plots and several rental units. Arif alleges that Wakil demanded Tk 300,000 in extortion money from him. When he refused to pay, his property was vandalised by a group of people on 27 April. Arif filed a case against Wakil and his associates at Khulshi police station.

Local residents said many people involved in drug dealing in the Jhautala and Jhilpar slums have now joined Wakil’s group. During the Awami League government, whose activities are now banned, Kamal Uddin, also known as Kanchi Kamal, was allegedly known to demand extortion money in the name of the Jubo League when people sought to build houses in the Jalalabad, Krishnachura, Jamir Housing and Wireless Jhautala areas. Local residents claim that he had been under Wakil’s protection for two years. Police arrested Kamal on 4 June.

Local residents allege that under Wakil’s leadership, activities including extortion, drug dealing, land grabbing, running teen gangs and mobilising people to form mobs are taking place. At least a dozen associates are actively involved with him in these activities. As a result, residents are afraid to speak openly against Wakil.

Wakil Hossain, however, claims that he is the victim of a political conspiracy. He told Prothom Alo, “When people come to me with their problems, I help them. But I have not occupied anyone’s land. I do not know why the party expelled me.”

The people collecting money from the ghats in Chattogram city have also changed since the fall of the Awami League government. Previously, people affiliated with the Awami League collected money from these locations. In September 2024, after the political changeover on 5 August and during the interim government, Prothom Alo reporters visited various ghats and found evidence of new BNP-linked control and extortion. BNP leaders and activists still control these locations.

Officials and employees of the revenue department of Chattogram City Corporation (CCC) said there are 19 ghats along the Karnaphuli River and the city’s major canals under the corporation. Tenders were invited to lease 17 of them. No suitable bids were received for seven. The remaining 10 ghats were leased out. Including the seven for which no bids were received, a total of nine ghats were given out on khas leases. Saltgola Ghat is one of them.

A large number of people from Karnaphuli and Anwara upazilas on the southern bank of the Karnaphuli River travel to Chattogram city by boat. Passengers cross the river from Saltgola Ghat, near Gate No. 5 of Chattogram Port, to Dangarchar in Karnaphuli upazila. Allegations have arisen that for more than two years the ghat has not been leased out and that hundreds of thousands of taka in government revenue is being divided among various people in the name of khas collection.

People familiar with the matter said that instead of leasing the ghat through a tender, it was handed over on a nominal daily fee for khas collection, ostensibly for renovation purposes, to city Swechhasebak Dal joint convener Abdul Ahad Ripon and former city Chhatra Dal student welfare affairs secretary Wahid Imran Khan. After the fall of the Awami League government, Ahad initially took sole control of the ghat. Wahid later secured a share. For 15 days each month, Abdul Ahad’s people and Wahid’s people collect money from the ghat.

Abdul Ahad Ripon told Prothom Alo, “There are no more than 10 to 12 passengers on each boat; whatever revenue is collected goes to the corporation. We do not take any money. The ghat will be renovated, and I am responsible for overseeing the work.”

When contacted, Wahid Imran Khan referred Prothom Alo to Chhatra Dal activist Md Alvi. Alvi later told Prothom Alo, “We have to make payments at various places. We have only 15 days [of control]. The mayor gave it to us. Please contact him.”

Both Abdul Ahad and Wahid are known as followers of Shahadat Hossain, former president of the city BNP and mayor of Chattogram City Corporation.

A letter signed by CCC Chief Revenue Officer SM Sarwar Kamal on 20 May said, “Until Saltgola Ghat is leased out, revenue department chainman Siraj Uddin has been assigned responsibility. Abdul Ahad and Wahid Iman Khan have been temporarily engaged to provide manpower, boats and sampans for passenger transportation and other assistance for this work.”

During a recent visit to the ghat to observe passenger transportation, a passenger named Nur Mohammad told Prothom Alo that while passengers were previously charged Tk 10, they are now charged Tk 18 per person, with an additional charge for luggage.

Two engine-powered boats operate at the ghat. According to information provided by passengers, the two boats make 40 trips a day. Each boat carries an average of 50 passengers per trip. At Tk 18 per passenger, each trip generates Tk 900. That means approximately Tk 36,000 is collected each day. The city corporation, however, receives only Tk 6,000.

Despite several attempts for a comment on the matter, Prothom Alo was unable to contact the city corporation mayor.

Asked for comment, CCC Chief Revenue Officer SM Sarwar Kamal told Prothom Alo last night that the mayor, Shahadat Hossain, had assigned the two men to renovate the Saltgola Ghat. “If they have not carried out the renovation, the agreement will be cancelled,” he said.

Nawab Khan, former president of the Bakalia ward BNP, has been accused of occupying a plot of khas land beside a road in the Tulatuli area of Bakalia. Local residents said the land was occupied after 5 August, 2024, blocking a passage used by residents. As a result, around 150 families have been facing difficulties. They now have to travel through the Kalpalok residential area using a back route, wading through mud and dirty water.

A recent visit to the area found that the land beside the road had been occupied and is now being used to store textile waste. Local residents said drug users regularly gather there. The waste has caught fire several times. Had the fires not been extinguished in time, nearby homes could also have caught fire. Despite repeated requests, the waste has not been removed.

Asked about the allegation that he had occupied the land and blocked the residents’ passage, Nawab Khan told Prothom Alo, “I will not say anything. Write whatever you can.”

Residents of the area, however, said they had used the roadside plot as khas land for many years. The passage was suddenly blocked after 5 August. Day labourer Zafar Ahmed has lived in the area for about 40 years. He alleged that Nawab Khan was present at the site when the long-used passage was blocked.

Local resident Hafez Mohammad Iskandar told Prothom Alo, “I bought land in 2019 and built a house in 2022. At the time, I knew that the passage beside the road in front of my house was khas land.” After 5 August, 2024, Nawab Khan claimed that the land belonged to him. Iskandar later bought a portion of the land from him to maintain access.

After 5 August 2024, then-Jubo Dal leader Emdadul Haque Badsha allegedly established control over various areas of Bakalia, including Chawk Bazar, DC Road and Access Road, through intimidation. On 12 July last year, the Jatiyatabadi Jubo Dal expelled Emdadul Haque Badsha, organising secretary of the dissolved city Jubo Dal committee, over allegations of land grabbing and extortion.

Badsha has been accused of taking control of the Chawk Bazar vegetable market without any tender. Following the shooting incident in the same area on 25 October last year, Nazrul Islam and Borhan Uddin came under renewed scrutiny.

Local sources said Nazrul had been president of the Tanti League in Jangalkhain union of Patiya. Borhan was formerly the literary affairs secretary of Chawk Bazar thana Chhatra Dal.

According to police sources, both men have eight cases each related to extortion, weapons and drugs.

The headquarters of the Eastern Railway, which covers the Dhaka, Mymensingh, Sylhet and Chattogram divisions, is in Chattogram. There have been deadly clashes in the past over control of railway tenders. On 24 June, 2013, two people were killed in a clash between followers of Jubo League leader Helal Akbar Chowdhury Babar and Chhatra League leader Saiful Alam Limon.

After the fall of the Awami League government, some BNP leaders have been accused of establishing control over railway contracts and threatening officials.

Three days after the BNP won the national parliamentary election, on 16 February, a group of Sramik Dal (labour wing of BNP) leaders and activists went to the office of the Additional Finance Adviser and Chief Accounts Officer at the CRB building of the Eastern Railway and created a “mob.” They allegedly threatened the concerned official, Md Saidur Rahman, to approve an irregular and inconsistent bill. The official was even threatened with being “taught a lesson” and facing administrative punishment.

Mominul Islam (Mamun), a Sramik Dal leader who was accused in the incident, told Prothom Alo that he had gone to speak to officials because workers’ bills were being withheld. He said they protested when the officials refused to release the bills.

Allegations of tender manipulation and extortion surrounding the Eastern Railway headquarters at CRB and the Pahartali workshop are among the major developments in Chattogram since 5 August. Sramik Dal leaders MR Manzur and Peyar Ahmed, along with several people close to former city Jubo Dal president Mosharraf Hossain Dipti, are at the centre of these allegations.

Many Eastern Railway contractors allege that they are not being allowed to work unless they are preferred contractors.

Chowdhury Zafar Ahmed, a first-class railway contractor and secretary general of the Bangladesh Covered Van, Truck and Prime Mover Goods Transport Owners Association, told Prothom Alo that many leaders and activists of BNP’s affiliated organisations had continued to work as railway contractors without obstruction even during the Awami League government. Now, he said, they are using the changed political landscape to prevent anyone other than their preferred people from working with the railway. He himself has been barred from entering railway premises for six months and therefore is no longer going there. Many other businessmen are being treated similarly, he said.

On 30 June, Kartik Ranjan Shil, proprietor of Tushi Enterprise, was attacked while going to the office of the Chief Controller of Stores at Pahartali to submit a tender for a railway project on the Dohazari railway line.

According to eyewitnesses, Jubo Dal leader Rasel Khan beat Kartik Ranjan. Later, a group of seven or eight people attacked him a second time in the Panir Kol area.

Rasel Khan denied the allegation that he assaulted the contractor. He told Prothom Alo, “I work as a railway contractor. But I did not threaten or assault anyone.”

After the attack, however, Kartik Ranjan left Chattogram and moved to Dhaka. He has not returned. He did not file a GD or case with the police. When Prothom Alo contacted Kartik about the attack, he said, “Everyone knows. I will not say anything.”

Like Kartik, another contractor, Md Humayun, was assaulted in June last year. He also did not approach the police. Humayun refused to speak to Prothom Alo about the matter.

Prothom Alo contacted five other contractors like Kartik and Humayun. Although they spoke of threats, attacks and intimidation, none was willing to speak publicly. They said that if they protested, not only would their work be stopped, but they could also put their families in danger.

The Chattogram Development Authority (CDA) built a 16-kilometre expressway from Lalkhan Bazar to Patenga in Chattogram city. The city corporation approved the installation of 50 panaflex or illuminated signboards along the lower section of the expressway from Lalkhan Bazar to Agrabad intersection. The expressway is known as the Shaheed Wasim Akram Flyover.

On 27 October last year, the city corporation signed an agreement with JM Publicity, a company owned by Nihar Sultana, wife of former Jubo Dal president Mosharraf Hossain Dipti. The construction of the expressway itself has not yet been fully completed. The CDA expressed anger over the city corporation’s decision to sign an agreement with a private company while construction was still incomplete. Students also expressed anger against the deal.

Mohammad Ashraful Amin, secretary and acting chief executive officer of Chattogram City Corporation, later said the agreement had been cancelled.

Mosharraf Hossain Dipti told Prothom Alo that he had not participated in any government tender or undertaken any government work during the past two years.

However, acknowledging his involvement in his wife’s advertising business through JM Publicity, Mosharraf Hossain said, “This is my old business. I have been operating it legally after obtaining a licence from the city corporation and paying one year’s revenue and taxes in advance. There was no irregularity here.”

Asked about the killings of Zubayer and Jihad, Dipti said the incidents were being described as factional disputes, but he was not aware of any major internal conflict within the Chattogram BNP. “These could be social crimes,” he said. Shariful Alam Tuhin, Nur Alam Sohag, Ismail Sarkar and Rajib Uddin Akand are political colleagues, he said, but it would not be correct to call them his followers. He also said it was incorrect to describe him as a follower of Mir Helal.

At one time, BNP politics in Chattogram revolved around former minister the late Abdullah Al Noman, BNP standing committee member and former finance minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, and BNP vice-chairman and former state minister Mir Mohammad Nasir Uddin. According to party leaders and activists, Amir Khasru still retains influence, but in recent times Mir Nasir’s son, BNP joint organising secretary Mir Mohammad Helal Uddin, has emerged as one of the key power brokers in local politics.

Party sources said the number of Mir Helal’s followers has increased significantly in the committees of Chattogram city, North and South district BNP, as well as Chhatra Dal, Jubo Dal, Swechhasebak Dal and Krishak Dal.

According to a senior party leader, Mir Helal has become an important figure in Chattogram’s grassroots politics by leveraging his connections with both the grassroots and the party’s central leadership.

The investigation found that the identity of “whose man” someone is plays an important role in establishing influence over various local sectors.

Following the July mass uprising, the name most frequently discussed in connection with establishing control and exercising influence in various sectors through political identity in Chattogram is Jubo Dal leader Dipti. He is widely known in the area as a follower of State Minister for Land and Hill Tracts Affairs Mir Mohammad Helal Uddin.

There are also photographs of Mir Helal with notorious Chattogram criminal Sajjad Hossain, also known as Chhoto Sajjad. Sajjad has also been seen participating in several BNP programmes.

Allegations that Sajjad’s group was receiving political protection came into sharper focus after the killing of Sarwar Hossain, also known as Babla, who was participating in a BNP election campaign on 5 November last year. Babla was shot dead during a campaign event for BNP candidate Ershad Ullah in Chalitataly, Bayezid. Boro Sajjad, Chhoto Sajjad and their followers have been named as accused in the case.

Aziz Uddin, the younger brother of slain Babla, alleged that State Minister for Land Mir Mohammad Helal Uddin was involved in his brother’s killing. He told Prothom Alo, “Mir Helal had a hand in my brother’s killing. I said this immediately after the incident, and I am saying it now as well.”

Asked why Mir Helal would want him killed, Aziz Uddin said, “My brother was involved in the politics of BNP leader Aslam Chowdhury. Mir Helal did not take that well.”

Despite attempts to obtain Mir Helal’s comments on the matter, Prothom Alo was unable to contact him.

After the fall of the Awami League government in the mass uprising, the BNP and its affiliated organisations expelled leaders and activists over various allegations. Mahbuber Rahman Shamim, BNP organising secretary for the Chattogram division, told Prothom Alo that since 5 August, 2024, more than 60 leaders and activists of the city and district BNP have been expelled over various allegations, including extortion, land grabbing and involvement in clashes. Some of the expulsions were later revoked.

The investigation found that allegations of land grabbing and extortion in the same sectors continued even after the expulsions.

Akhtar Kabir Chowdhury, president of Citizens for Good Governance’s Chattogram city chapter, told Prothom Alo that after 5 August, BNP leaders and activists at various levels became extensively involved in land grabbing and extortion.

“Fields, ghats, toll collection points, sand quarries—new faces have replaced the controllers of the authoritarian era everywhere,” he said. “In many cases, local political mafias, criminal groups and administrative connections are working together to control these sectors.”

If the elected government cannot stop this, the people of Chattogram will not get the peace that has always been elusive, he added.