Two murders took place in quick succession near the Ashibigha sand field close to Khulna city’s Labanchara police station, driven by territorial control, the drug trade and a show of force. The information came from Alamin Hasan Saifi, a top criminal from the city’s Tutpara area, after his arrest by RAB.
RAB-6 commanding officer Lt. Col. Nistar Ahmed disclosed the information at a press conference held at the RAB-6 office on Saturday, August 22.
Earlier, on Friday, Alamin Hasan Saifi and his associate Rafikul Islam Rakib were arrested in front of the union parishad office at Majhigati Bazar in Gopalganj district. Another of Saifi’s associates, Sagar Ahmed, was arrested afterward. A shotgun, a pistol, one round of shotgun ammunition and three machetes used in the killings were recovered from Sagar Ahmed at the time.
RAB-6 commanding officer Lt. Col. Nistar Ahmed said: “Two rival criminal gangs control the drug trade in the city’s Tutpara, Horintana and Labanchara areas. Saifi, the criminal from Tutpara, works for Grenade Babu’s B Company. Rafiq, meanwhile, runs the drug trade in that area for the city’s other top criminal group, the Palash-Rohan gang. Their rivalry over control has gone on for a long time.”
He said: “On August 19, within a span of just two and a half hours, two young men, Md Manjurul Islam and Md Nazmul Islam, were shot and hacked to death in the Ashibigha area under the city’s Labanchara police station. Following the incident, RAB-6 members began a covert investigation. During the course of the investigation, information emerged linking criminal Alamin Hasan Saifi and his gang to the killings. Operations were then carried out in various parts of Khulna city to arrest him. Acting on a tip from a source, an operation was carried out in the Majhigati Raja area of Gopalganj, arresting Saifi and his associate Rakib. Under initial questioning, Saifi and Rakib have admitted their involvement in the killings. The deceased Nazmul was linked to Saifi’s gang. The deceased Manjurul, on the other hand, was with the rival Rohan-Palash group.”
He said: “According to Saifi’s confession, his gang member Nazmul was seized by criminal Rafiq, who hacked him while on a video call. In response, Saifi and 15 or 16 members of his gang went to the Ashibigha area carrying firearms and homemade weapons to retaliate, found rival gang member Manjurul there, and shot and hacked him to death in front of his own father.”
He said: “The remaining suspects involved in the two killings are expected to be arrested soon.”
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report