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Download PDF Purba Banglar Communist Party (PBCP)-Janajuddha faction is apparently avenging the killing of their leaders and workers in ‘crossfire’ by attacking the ruling alliance leaders in the country’s south-western region.
The faction had vowed on a number of occasions to take revenge on the ruling alliance for ‘engaging’ Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) and other law enforcement agencies to slay at least 215 of its cadres in 10 districts since June 2004.
The outlaws have killed four people in Kushtia and Jhenidah in two days. In Jhenidah, three Jatiyatabadi Jubo Dal men were killed while one Jamaat-e-Islami man was killed in Kushtia.
Jubo Dal Office and Publicity Secretary of Jhenidah upazila Lutfor Rahman Shantu, 32, and activists Sagar, 42, and Altaf, 32, were killed in the span of eight hours on Saturday at two places.
Police said criminals shot Shantu when he was sitting at a grocery shop in Chandipur Bazar around 11:00am. He died on the spot.
In another incident, two people claiming themselves to be followers of a ruling party lawmaker took Jubo Dal activists Sagar and Altaf to Parbatipur Bridge in Harinakundu upazila around 8:10pm.
Several other men were waiting for them and they ambushed the two as soon as they reached there. Sagar and Altaf were hacked first then shot at point-blank range, sources said.
Later, one Dipok Roy called a number of journalists including this correspondent and claimed responsibility on behalf of Janajuddha for the murders saying ‘Janajuddha has started taking revenge’.
In Kushtia, criminals attacked the house of BNP Organising Secretary of Sadarpur union Ashraful Haq Asha around 12:00noon on Sunday.
Police said villagers led by Jamaat activist Abdul Bari responded to the cry for help by the members of Asha’s family. As Bari went there to help, they hurled bombs at him and shot him from close range. He died on the spot.
Dipok Roy called journalists again on Monday claiming responsibility for the killings. He said they [Janajuddha] have no other option but to keep on ‘cleansing the region of their enemy’.
Blasting the ruling alliance for ‘crossfire’ killings he said Janajuddha would carry on their revenge campaign.
The outlawed leader said the law enforcers have long been killing their men in cold blood and giving false statements about how they died.
Earlier on October 28, 2005, the Janajuddho killed five BNP men in Kushtia, Chuadanga, Jhenidah and Narail in one day. Later, one Rony Biswas, who was a leader of Janajuddha then and now the chief of PBCP-Communist War, called journalists over telephone and claimed responsibility for the killings terming them ‘revenge killings’.
Police in Khulna range were put on high alert and security in the region was beefed up following the four murders.
“Police are searching for the source of the phone calls,” a police high official of Khulna told The Daily Star yesterday.
There are at least 12 outlawed parties in the region who have around 1,000 illegal firearms in their possession, sources said.
The parties are: PBCP-ML, PBCP-Janajuddha, PBCP-Red Flag, PBCP-Communist War, Biplabi Communist Party, New Biplabi Communist Party, Banglar Communist Party, Gono Mukti Fouj, Gono Bahini, Socialist Party, Biplabi Anuragi and Chhinnamul Communist Party.
At least 352 outlaws including several top leaders of the parties were killed in the region in so-called ‘encounter and crossfire’ incidents with law enforcers since June 2004.
Of them, at least 215 were from Janajuddha, the largest outlawed party in the region.
April 27th, 2008 at 7:46 am
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