Repeated shootings in Khulna spark public panic

Within a span of just 22 days, six people have been killed by gunfire alone in Khulna, while six others have sustained gunshot wounds. Criminal gangs are opening fire openly across various parts of Khulna city and district—sometimes on roads, sometimes inside tea stalls, and at other times in front of commercial establishments. Ordinary citizens are no longer spared from the gun violence driven by turf wars and disputes over the narcotics trade.

Between 22 October and 12 November—over 22 days—at least 13 shooting incidents occurred. In one such instance, miscreants fired blank shots inside a clinic to demand extortion money.

Alongside the six fatal shootings, three additional murders took place in Khulna over the same 22-day period: two victims were hacked to death with sharp weapons, while another was beaten to death. In total, out of nine murders in 22 days, five occurred within Khulna city, three in Rupsha upazila, and one in Dumuria. Up to 12 November this year, a total of 79 murders have been recorded—39 in the city and 40 in the district.

Most recently, at around 10:15 pm last Thursday, miscreants stormed into a shop in Swalpa Bahirdia village of Khulna’s Rupsha upazila and shot dead a BNP (Bangladesh Nationalist Party) leader named Md Jakir Hossain, 43.

Jakir, a brick and sand merchant by profession, was a member of the TSB Union BNP Search Committee (a special committee formed for the organisational restructuring of BNP, the ruling party).

Jakir Hossain’s namaz-e-janaza (funeral prayer) was held yesterday afternoon at the Uttar Khajadanga Government Primary School field in Rupsha. 

Speaking to journalists after attending the janaza, Khulna City Corporation Administrator and BNP leader Nazrul Islam Manju said, “Khulna is now submerged in terror. Murderers are killing people, extorting money, and running open drug markets. Anyone who protests is murdered. So far, they have killed 8 to 10 of our leaders and activists.”

Demanding a comprehensive list of criminals and joint operations to arrest listed criminals, the city administrator added, “Otherwise, no one will survive. No one’s life can be saved unless we take decisive action right now.”

The succession of shootings has generated deep anxiety among ordinary residents. Although police operations have yielded reports of firearms recoveries and arrests, the shootings and killings remain unabated. Simultaneously, multiple attacks have been carried out on pharmacies, hospitals, and other establishments over extortion demands.

When asked by Prothom Alo why the extortion and killings could not be stopped, Khulna Metropolitan Police Commissioner Md Sajjadur Rahman declined to comment.

Last Tuesday, a human chain was formed in Khulna to protest attacks, vandalism, and extortion targeting private hospitals, clinics, and diagnostic centres. 

Organised under the banner of Jatiyatabadi (nationalist) physicians, nurses, officers, and employees at the city’s Sat Rasta intersection, speakers issued a seven-day ultimatum to the police and administration to bring about visible improvements in the law and order situation. 

They warned of strict programmes, including work stoppages, if conditions did not improve within that timeframe.

Speaking at the human chain, Khulna Medical College Hospital Director Mostafa Kamal stated that healthcare professionals are living in constant fear. When extortion demands are not met, criminals attack, vandalise, and force institutions to shut down. Even when the police are called during such incidents, immediate assistance is not forthcoming.

On Thursday, the Chemists and Druggists Association submitted a memorandum to the Khulna Metropolitan Police commissioner demanding action against extortionists. 

The memorandum noted that substantial extortion money had been demanded from pharmacy owners across various areas—including Chayanika Pharmacy in Tutpara and Mallick Brothers in Rupsha—accompanied by death threats. Several pharmacies have closed down as a result.

The association warned that if action is not taken against the perpetrators within the next three days, they will launch strict programmes, including shutting down all pharmacies across Khulna.

Due to extortion demands, Mallick Brothers Pharmacy on Rupsha Stand Road remained closed from Monday to Wednesday, while owners of seven to eight other pharmacies in the same area also shut their doors. They reopened on Thursday following police assurances. However, Chayanika Pharmacy on Tutpara Central Road has remained closed for over two weeks.

Multiple police sources state that most recent killings in Khulna stem from arms and narcotics trafficking, control over extortion rackets, previous enmities, and rivalries among criminal gangs. However, ordinary citizens are increasingly falling victim to this gunfire.

On the night of 8 November, Mashiur Rahman, an accountant at the Rupsha Upazila Education Office, was injured by gunfire in the Miapara area of Khulna city while walking from Miapara Pipe Intersection towards PTI Intersection to buy food for his daughter. 

“The miscreants opened fire targeting someone else. However, a stray bullet struck me beneath my left rib. Moving around the city has become unsafe for ordinary citizens,” Mashiur Rahman said, recounting the incident.

Earlier, at noon on 5 November, miscreants entered a tea stall at Jora Battola in the Ambhita–Ramkrishnapur area of Dumuria upazila and shot dead a young man, Tarikul Islam Sheikh. He was a gher (fish enclosure) businessman and convenor of the Rangpur Union unit BNP in Dumuria upazila. Although no firearm was recovered, police retrieved two spent revolver cartridges from the scene.

Tarikul’s father, Abdus Salam Sheikh, stated that his son had leased 42 bighas of land in the northern part of Beel Dakatia for fish farming. Local individuals had been demanding a hefty sum of extortion money from him, though Tarikul had not disclosed their identities to his family.

At noon on 27 October, miscreants opened fire in front of a tobacco company’s dealer point on Road No. 17 of Nirala Residential Area in the city and snatched a laptop bag, injuring a company employee.

On the evening of 24 October, college teacher Dhananjoy Kundu alias Akash Kundu was shot in Dakshin Tutpara in the city. Alongside teaching, he runs a shop in the Tutpara Gachhtala area, where he was attacked. 

Police suspect an extortion dispute could be behind the shooting, though members of Dhananjoy Kundu’s family declined to comment.

Multiple police sources indicate that the names of nine criminal gangs repeatedly surface in connection with most recent crimes in Khulna. Driven by a desire to establish dominance, these groups have become so reckless that they do not hesitate to open fire openly even in crowded areas.

According to police sources, active criminal outfits in Khulna include Roni Chowdhury alias Grenade Babu’s ‘B Company’, Sheikh Palash’s ‘Palash Group’, ‘Nur Azim Group’, ‘Ashik Bahini’, Humayun Kabir’s ‘Huma Bahini’, Sheikh Saidur Rahman alias Shaon’s ‘Tenki Shaon Group’, Arman Sheikh’s ‘Arman Group’, Shakil Sheikh’s ‘Shakil Group’, and ‘Nasim Group’. Notably, Nasimul Gani, head of the Nasim Group, was shot dead on 4 October in Dighalia upazila.

On 2 November, police recovered the bullet-riddled bodies of two young men—Mehedi Hasan, son of Abdullah, and Rezaul Karim, both from Rajapur—from the banks of the Atharobeki River in the Singher Char area of Aichgati union in Rupsha upazila.

Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Rupsha police station, Masum Khan, stated that both men were members of the criminal gang known as ‘B Company’. The killings may have resulted from internal feuds and narcotics disputes within the group. Mehedi Hasan faced two cases under the Narcotics Control Act, alongside allegations of extortion, abduction, and snatching.

Earlier, on 27 October at around 12:30 am, miscreants shot Jubo Dal leader Sohel Sheikh in front of Boro Karia Government Primary School in Batiaghata. That evening, former Jubo Dal leader Ohidul Islam alias Badal was shot near Chakrakhali Bazar in Batiaghata.

Investigative sources indicate that preliminary probes into the shootings of the two Jubo Dal leaders point towards disputes over the narcotics trade, turf dominance, and land transactions. 

Batiaghata police station OC SM Mizanur Rahman stated that both injured men remain under treatment in Dhaka, no formal case has yet been lodged, and police investigations are ongoing.

Prior to this, on 22 October, two individuals named Tawhidul Islam and Khushi Akter were killed in separate shootings in Khulna city. Police investigative sources claim Tawhidul belonged to the ‘Palash Group’, which is locked in a feud with Roni Chowdhury Babu alias Grenade Babu’s ‘B Company’, while Khushi Akter allegedly sold drugs on behalf of B Company. 

Police maintain that both murders were rooted in rivalries over narcotics trafficking and territorial control.

Last Thursday night, the Special Response Battalion (SRB) arrested Shahariar Islam Rocky, brother of Khulna’s top criminal Nur Azim, from Shibchar in Madaripur. 

According to SRB disclosures, the Nur Azim Bahini was involved in the recent armed attack and vandalism at New Apollo Diagnostic and Consultation Centre in Khulna over extortion demands. Arrested Shahariar faces a total of nine cases across various police stations in Khulna city, including three murder and four narcotics cases.

Deputy Commissioner of Khulna Metropolitan Detective Branch (DB), Mohammad Ahaduzzaman Mia, told Prothom Alo that rivalries among criminal gangs over narcotics trafficking and territorial supremacy underlie most of the killings and shootings, with several groups actively vying for control over drugs, extortion, and local territory.

Alongside reports of shootings in Khulna city and district, law enforcement agencies have reported ongoing seizures of illegal firearms.

According to KMP officials, 47 firearms were recovered in 2025. From January to 31 October this year, 51 firearms and 378 rounds of ammunition were seized, including 31 foreign pistols and seven foreign revolvers. A total of 48 cases under the Arms Act have been filed, leading to 81 arrests.

District police recovered 26 firearms up to 24 October, resulting in 18 cases against 38 accused individuals.

Metropolitan DB officials believe many of the seized weapons are of similar make, predominantly manufactured in India, and were found in operational condition, costing between Tk 18,000 and Tk 25,000 each.

Metropolitan DB estimates that at least 300 illegal firearms remain in circulation within the city.

A decision has been reached to conduct special combing operations by joint forces to curb crimes and extortion in Khulna. Concurrently, authorities have decided to establish checkpoints along highways and major roads, deploy 200 Ansar personnel, and intensify regular patrols and intelligence surveillance. Crackdowns on unlicensed motorcycles will also be stepped up.

These decisions were finalised at a special meeting of senior officials from various law enforcement units held at the Khulna Circuit House last Thursday night, as confirmed to Prothom Alo by multiple attendees.

Chaired by Khulna Divisional Commissioner Md Abdullah Harun, the meeting was attended by KMP Commissioner Sajjadur Rahman, along with senior officials from RAB-6, District Police, River Police, Armed Police Battalion, Coast Guard, and various intelligence agencies.

Expressing grave concern over Khulna’s law and order situation, National Parliament Whip and MP for Khulna-3 (comprising 15 wards of the city corporation, Jogipol, and Aranghata unions), Rakibul Islam Bakul, told Prothom Alo that the party had briefed the prime minister on the matter during his visit to Khulna, prompting him to instruct law enforcement agencies to rein in crime and alleviate public fear.

Asserting that the reign of criminals in Khulna will not be tolerated under any circumstances, Whip Rakibul Islam also stated that law enforcement officials and administrative authorities must resolve the crisis and take firm action. 

Regardless of how powerful a criminal or political leader may be, or under whose patronage they operate, he warned that if the administration fails to take strict action, he will take to the streets alongside the public in his capacity as a people’s representative.