‘Top terror’ Palash dies a week after being shot in Rampura

Yasin Khan Palash, a listed ‘top terror’ who was shot within a month of his release from prison, has died while undergoing treatment. He passed away a week after being shot near his home in Dhaka.

Palash died at around 1:00 am on Friday (12 June) night at Evercare Hospital in Dhaka, according to Md. Asaduzzaman, Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Hatirjheel Police Station.

Palash, 50, who featured on a previous police list of top terrorists, was known in the underworld as ‘Kailla Palash.’ He had been serving a life sentence in a murder case and was released from prison about just a month ago.

On 12 June, at around 1:45 pm, Palash was shot near his residence opposite the Bangladesh Television (BTV) building in Rampura. Witnesses said assailants arrived on a motorcycle, opened fire and fled the scene. He was hit by two bullets in the head.

Palash was initially taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital in critical condition. After two days of treatment there, he was moved to Evercare Hospital on Sunday (14 June) night.

Following the shooting, Palash’s wife, Mahmuda Khanam, filed a case at Hatirjheel Police Station alleging attempted murder. In the case, an individual named Jisan Ahmed Monti, identified as a ‘top terror,’ was named as the primary accused.

Other individuals named in the FIR include Badsha alias Guja Badsha (48), Galda Badsha (45), Shanto alias Pichchi Shanto (28), Solaiman Khandakar (45), Faruk alias Chacha Faruk (35), Hebel (35), Molla Jony (42), Firoz Mohammad Molla (45), Pichchi Alamin alias Totla Alamin, and Sajib (35).

Law enforcement agencies have arrested two individuals in connection with the incident so far. They are Imam Hossain, arrested from Badda, and Maruf Sultan, arrested from the Hatirjheel area.

OC Asaduzzaman told Prothom Alo that neither of the two arrested men was named in the FIR, but both were involved in the incident. Imam Hossain was riding the motorcycle used in the attack, while Maruf Sultan had been moving suspiciously around the area before the shooting.

Yasin Khan Palash was a convict in the murder case of Jubo Dal leader Mizanur Rahman Mizan. Mizan was shot dead in Rampura on 29 May, 2002. A trial court had originally sentenced Palash to death in the case, but the higher court later commuted his sentence to life imprisonment. Palash was released from prison on bail in this case a month ago.