DAULATPUR, Kushtia — At least a dozen armed gangs have long operated on the remote Padma River chars of Daulatpur upazila and the area bordering India, residents and police say, after recent clashes over land left three people dead and prompted a police sweep.
The Kakon, Mondol, Tuku, Sayeed, Lalchand, Rakhi, Kaigi, Razzak and Bahanno gangs are active in the chars and are involved in land grabbing, harvesting other people’s crops, extortion, sand mining and drug and arms trafficking, residents say. Many of those running the gangs inherited the role from earlier generations. Police have started raids, but no one was arrested on the first day.
The remote Padma char areas of Daulatpur upazila in Kushtia and the belt along the Indian border have long been a sanctuary for criminals. A recent clash between two sides over land on a Padma char, followed by an hour-long gunfight that left three people dead, has stirred the administration into action. Inquiries show that not only the Kakon or Mondol gangs but also the Tuku, Sayeed, Lalchand, Rakhi, Kaigi, Razzak and Bahanno gangs are active in the area.
Under political shelter, the gangs are involved in land grabbing, harvesting others’ crops, extortion, sand mining, drugs, arms trafficking and other crimes, residents said. Locals allege the gangs have built “empires” on remote Padma chars where law enforcement access is limited. Their reach extends across the remote chars of Rajshahi, Natore and Pabna districts.
In the recent clash on a remote Padma char in Daulatpur upazila, three people from both sides were killed in fighting between the Kakon gang and the Mondol group. The case filed over the incident names Kakon, the head of the Kakon gang, as the prime accused. Last Thursday, several units of the district police carried out a sweep on the Padma chars from morning to evening with more than 100 personnel. No one was arrested on the first day of the operation. The administration said the sweep would continue.
Local sources say more than a dozen criminal groups have long been active in Daulatpur’s Padma chars. Two armed gangs emerged in the wider remote char area 20 years ago. No one could harvest crops on the chars without giving them a share. Forty-one people were killed in feuds at that time, news reports said. Stepping onto the char soil felt eerie then. The two groups were called the Panna gang and the Lalchand gang. Panna was Kakon’s mentor. Sources say six cases have been filed against the Kakon gang at the Ishwardi, Bagha, Lalpur and Daulatpur police stations between June and October this year. Kakon, the gang’s chief, lives on College Road in Ishwardi, Pabna, but his ancestral home is in Majdiar village of Marichha Union in Kushtia’s Daulatpur.
After earning a BSc in civil engineering in 1994, Kakon worked at a job. He returned from Saudi Arabia in 2007, two years after Panna was killed in 2005, and began seizing and controlling sand quarries under the shelter of influential Awami League leaders. He then formed his own armed gang. The gang now has about 40 members, local sources said.
The Tuku gang came into the spotlight after the shooting of Philipnagar Union chairman Naim Uddin Sentu in his office on Sept. 30 last year. Gang chief Tariqul Islam, alias Tuku, is a resident of Philipnagar village. His group has more than 20 members. After the killing, cases were filed against Tuku and several associates; they were arrested but later released on bail.
On the night of Feb. 10 this year, the Sayeed gang shot and killed an 18-year-old man named Raju Ahmed in the Mondolpara area of Bairagirchar in Marichha Union. Gang chief Abu Sayeed Mondol, 35, is the son of Bhadu Mondol of South Bhangapara in Bairagirchar, Marichha Union. He has more than nine cases against him at Daulatpur Police Station.
After Lalchand, the chief of the Lalchand gang, was killed in 2009, his brother Sukhchand took over. They are residents of Philipnagar. Several members are active in the gang, including Lalchand’s son Rubel. The gang faces drug, arms and robbery allegations.
Another gang under scrutiny at Daulatpur Police Station, the Rakhi gang, is led by Rakibul Islam Rakhi, who faces seven cases. His home is at Darogar Mor in Philipnagar Union. There are also the Kaigi, Razzak and Bahanno gangs.
Multiple intelligence sources said large quantities of weapons have entered the country through the Daulatpur border since Aug. 5. About 2,000 firearms came in three consignments, sources said.
Sweep on the remote chars
Kushtia district police carried out a sweep last Thursday with 120 personnel from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. but could not arrest any suspect. Residents of the chars said they were pleased with the operation and hoped it would restore a sense of calm.
Kushtia Additional Superintendent of Police (Crime and Operations) Faisal Mahmud told Ajker Patrika on Friday morning: “This operation will continue through the night. The operation will not end. This is not just about arresting suspects. We are reassuring people that there will be no shelter for criminals on these chars.”
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report