Murder, retaliation for four decades

Manik Abdullah, a Jubo Dal activist, was having dinner at a neighbour’s house in Garib Ullah Para of Bagowan Union, Raozan upazila, when four to five armed youths entered the tin-roofed home. Without warning, they opened fire on Manik. He died on the spot. One of his companions, who was seated next to him, managed to escape.

The incident occurred on the night of 19 April and is being described by locals as a targeted killing — a ‘revenge murder’. Police suspect that Manik was assassinated for assisting in the identification of a member of a rival criminal group.

Just two days later, on 22 April, another murder took place in Raozan. This time, a 30-year-old youth named Muhammad Ibrahim was gunned down in broad daylight in Gazipara of Shamsher Nagar, Sadar Union.

Ibrahim, also said to be a Youth Party activist, was sitting at a roadside tea stall near his house when three auto-rickshaws carrying 10 to 12 young men arrived. The attackers shot him three to four times — in the back of the head, waist, and thigh. He died instantly. The assailants fled the scene without facing any resistance.

These killings are part of a disturbing pattern of violence and retaliation that has plagued Raozan, Chattogram for decades. Since the fall of the Awami League government during the mass uprising on 5 August last year, 12 people have been killed in Raozan alone. Among them, seven were affiliated with political parties. Dozens more have been injured by gunfire, stabbing, or beatings.

But these incidents are not isolated or recent phenomena. Residents, political insiders, and police sources confirm that such murders and counter-murders have been occurring in Raozan for nearly 40 years. While no official tally exists, estimates suggest that between 100 and 110 people have been killed during this long-standing cycle of violence. Many more have been left permanently disabled.

Shootings, attacks, and counter-attacks have become routine in Raozan. When one political faction holds control, the killings subside. But when a rival group attempts to take over, the violence intensifies.

Local residents say the ongoing conflict between two factions of the BNP over dominance in Raozan began shortly after the Awami League was ousted from power during the mass uprising last July.

Among the politically motivated killings in the past eight months, three of the victims were Jubo Dal members — Qamar Uddin, Ibrahim, and Manik Abdullah — while four belonged to the Awami League — Abdul Mannan, Muhammad Yusuf Mia, Abu Taher, and Muhammad Hasan.

A local businessman, Jahangir Alam, was also murdered during this period. In most cases, those accused of involvement are reportedly linked to local BNP politics.

The deteriorating law and order situation in Raozan has raised serious concerns. Despite the transfer of three officers-in-charge (OC) at the Raozan police station in the past eight months, the violence shows no signs of abating.

An elderly resident of the area, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Prothom Alo, “There is no real control from the upazila administration or the police in Raozan. For years, it has been under the grip of individual dominance. The faces may change, but the reign of terror continues.”

Raozan, one of the 15 upazilas of Chattogram, spans an area of 243 square kilometres and is home to approximately 325,000 people, according to the upazila administration website.

Violence—often in the form of attacks and retaliations—regularly erupts across its 14 unions and municipalities. Police officials in Chattogram say that political violence and terrorism are most frequent in Raozan, followed by Fatikchhari.

To understand the roots of this unrest, this correspondent spoke to several individuals—including four senior politicians, local residents, and police officers who had served in Raozan. All requested anonymity.

According to their accounts, political violence in Raozan took root in the mid-1980s during the regime of HM Ershad. A fierce rivalry emerged between the family of BNP leader Salauddin Quader Chowdhury and supporters of then-Awami League leader Abdullah Al Harun.

Salauddin was executed in 2015 for crimes against humanity, while Harun, the brother of BNP Vice Chairman Abdullah Al Noman, passed away in 2004.

The Chowdhury family held political dominance in Raozan even before independence. Salauddin’s father, Fazlul Quader Chowdhury, served as Speaker and Acting President of Pakistan but was later arrested on charges of collaborating with the Pakistani regime and died in prison following the Liberation War.

Salauddin Quader Chowdhury won the 1979 national election from Raozan, Fatikchhari, and Rangunia as a Muslim League candidate. He later joined the Jatiya Party and won again in 1986. Eventually, he left the party and founded the National Democratic Party (NDP).

His primary political opposition came from the Awami League, and the struggle for control soon turned violent. The upazila became known for its series of high-profile murders, many allegedly carried out by armed groups operating under political protection.

In 1991, Salauddin won again under the NDP banner before joining the BNP. Both he and Abdullah Al Harun hailed from the Gahira area of Raozan. Locals say the bloodshed began with their personal and political rivalry. Armed clashes became frequent, with both sides using firearms and locally made weapons. The cycle of violence that started then has never truly ceased.

After the Awami League returned to power in 2009, political dominance in Raozan gradually shifted to ABM Fazle Karim Chowdhury, a cousin of Salauddin and former NDP leader. A local politician told Prothom Alo that election outcomes in Raozan historically depended on who controlled the ground.

Unable to defeat Salauddin through local competition, the Awami League enlisted Fazle Karim with the help of a central party figure. Though he lost in the 1996 election, he strengthened his base and eventually won in 2001 on the Awami League ticket.

Fazle Karim was then re-elected from the Chattogram-6 (Raozan) constituency in 2008 and in the controversial elections of 2014, 2018, and 2024. From 2008 until the fall of the Awami League in August 2024, he effectively ran Raozan unopposed. Local sources allege that he not only sidelined opposition party members but also purged dissenters from within the Awami League itself. Backed by a personal force of 70–80 men, Fazle Karim ensured that only his loyalists were elected to local government positions. His tenure was marred by widespread allegations of corruption and authoritarian control.

After the Awami League was ousted during the mass uprising in July 2024, Fazle Karim went into hiding. He was later arrested and is currently in prison.

The Karnaphuli River, vital to the national economy, flows along the southern boundary of Raozan. Locals say that whoever holds power in Raozan controls the river-based economy—brick kilns, sand and soil supply, land-filling contracts, and trade in illegally smuggled timber and alcohol from the nearby hills. Raozan is also known as a transit route for arms smuggling. Struggles for dominance over these resources often spark deadly local-level clashes.

After former Awami League MP ABM Fazle Karim Chowdhury went into hiding following his party’s fall in the July 2024 uprising, his followers quickly lost their grip on the local trade and business scene. Meanwhile, BNP leaders and activists—many of whom had been driven out of the area under Fazle Karim’s rule—began returning.

Today, local BNP supporters are broadly divided into two camps. One group follows BNP Vice Chairman Gias Uddin Quader Chowdhury, younger brother of the late Salauddin Quader Chowdhury. The other supports Golam Akbar Khandaker, the convener of the BNP’s North District unit. The three slain Jubo Dal activists—Qamar Uddin, Manik Abdullah, and Ibrahim—were all known to be aligned with Gias Uddin Quader Chowdhury. Two of them had recently returned to the area following the political shift.

Several other figures with long-standing reputations for political violence and past ties to the now-defunct NDP have also resurfaced. One example is Muhammad Azizul Haque of Dabua Union, who returned after 18 years abroad. Previously accused of terrorism, he was arrested by RAB on 24 November last year for allegedly torching the home of an expatriate.

New names are also emerging in the area. Among them is Md. Raihan, who has been accused by the family of murdered Jubo Dal activist Md. Ibrahim of being directly involved in the killing in Shamsernagar’s Gazipara neighbourhood.

Raozan Police Station’s officer-in-charge (OC), Monirul Islam Bhuiyan, told Prothom Alo that police are monitoring both the return of known criminals and the rise of new ones. “We are listing them and taking legal action. The volatile situation in Raozan stems from a combination of geographical, economic, and political factors,” he said.

Both Gias Uddin Quader Chowdhury and Golam Akbar Khandaker are seeking the BNP nomination to contest the next general election from Raozan. Khandaker had previously won in the widely discredited 15 February 1996 election, but in the subsequent June election that year, the BNP gave its nomination to Gias Uddin, who then defeated his cousin ABM Fazle Karim Chowdhury to become a Member of Parliament.

In a statement to Prothom Alo, Gias Uddin Quader Chowdhury accused his rival of siding with former ruling party actors. “Golam Akbar Khandaker is sheltering Awami League terrorists. They are the ones murdering my supporters and BNP activists,” he said. “All my followers are being killed. I’ve formally informed the administration, including the Home Affairs Advisor, seeking action.”

Khandaker rejected these allegations, blaming his rival instead. “It’s Gias Uddin Quader Chowdhury who is giving shelter to terrorists from the now-defunct Chhatra League and Jubo League. These murders are the result of infighting. There’s no political factionalism here—it’s about extortion and control over territory,” he said. “Even we, the politicians, are terrified by this group-based politics.”

The internal party strife between the two BNP leaders has now caught the attention of the party’s central command. On 30 April, the BNP issued show cause notices to both Gias Uddin and Khandaker for violating party discipline.

“We’re investigating the full situation in Raozan,” said Mir Mohammad Helal Uddin, BNP’s Joint Organising Secretary for the Chattogram division. “So far, the information we’ve received is superficial. After a thorough investigation, strict action will be taken against whoever is responsible.”

Raozan has witnessed numerous high-profile political killings over the decades—yet justice has rarely followed. In almost all major cases, the accused were eventually acquitted.

Take, for instance, the double murder on 5 April 1989. Fakhruddin Md. Babar, then General Secretary of the Chattogram North District Chhatra League, and Mujibur Rahman, Vice President of the Raozan College Student Union, were brutally shot and hacked to death at Amirhat. Family members alleged that members of the now-defunct NDP were responsible. But years later, all the accused were acquitted.

The trend continued through the 1990s. In 1993, two brothers—Titu Biswas and Bitu Biswas—were shot dead. In 1994, Iqbal Hossain Khokon and Gias Uddin Jamil met the same fate.

In 1999, Didarul Alam, the then president of the upazila Chhatra League (now banned), was gunned down. In each case, cases were filed, but the courts later acquitted the accused.

Md. Sakhawat Hossain, professor and chair of the Criminology and Police Science Department at Chittagong University, told Prothom Alo that the lack of punishment is often due to the political influence of the accused. “This is deeply troubling,” he said. “As long as criminals are shielded by political affiliations, crime will continue unchecked. Accountability is key to establishing law and order.”

‘We Don’t Expect Justice’

This reporter spoke to the families of several individuals recently killed in political clashes in Raozan. Not one family expressed any faith in the justice system.

Md. Ali Mia, father of Jubo Dal activist Kamar Uddin—who was hacked to death on 15 March—was seething. “The people who killed my son still roam around Amirhat Bazaar in broad daylight,” he said. “The police haven’t arrested a single one of them.”

The fear is palpable in the homes of victims. When this correspondent visited the home of Manik, another Jubo Dal activist who was shot dead while having dinner at a neighbor’s house on 22 April, the neighborhood was gripped by panic. Manik’s elder sister, Nasima Akhter, said they would not file a case.

“We’ll never get our brother back,” she said. “We don’t know who killed him—only God does. We’ve left justice to Him. We have no money or strength to chase it through the courts.”