40 top outlaws still at large despite hunt for their heads

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Around 40 top tier leaders of different outlawed outfits from 10 southwestern districts are still at large despite all-out efforts to trap them in last several years.

Sources say these outlaws are still active and involved in various crimes, mostly extortion and murder, in the 10 districts.

They say the leaders are also trying to reorganise their own outfits and gangs to increase strength before the local government and national elections.

The outlaw leaders are also trying to recruit new cadres and allegedly maintaining close contact with some top political leaders including former lawmakers. The sources say these political leaders had earlier used outlaws to manipulate polls and establish supremacy in the districts of Kushtia, Meherpur, Chuadanga, Jhenidah, Magura, Jessore, Narail, Khulna, Bagerhat and Satkhira.

Of the top criminals, all are from outlawed parties except four gang leaders. The outlawed parties are four factions of Purba Banglar Communist Party — (PBCP-ML), Janajuddha, PBCP-Red Flag and PBCP-Communist War; Biplabi Communist Party (BCP), New Biplabi Communist Party (NBCP), Gono Bahini (GB), Gono Mukti Fouz (GMF), Banglar Communist Party, Socialist Party (SP), Biplabi Anuragi, Chinnamu Communist Party (CCP) and Sharbahara People’s March.

The sources say the underground parties have over 5,000 cadres still active in the region who carry equal number of firearms.

Eight top outlawed party leaders and a gang group boss are still active in Kushtia. They are Azibor Rahman of GMF and his second-in-command Mandar, GMF chief Sahin and three ‘regional commanders’ — Mukul, Tikka and Bakhtiar.

The runaway gang leaders include Lalchand Bahini chief Lalchand, Mukti Bahini chief Mukti, and Hamidul and Rashidul, two brothers who lead the Hara Bahini.

Three regional leaders of Janajuddha Badiur Rahman alias Badi, Anarul Islam and Atiar control underground politics in Meherpur.

Fourteen top figures of different banned parties are still on the run in Chuadanga, though the government announced award of up to Tk 5 lakh for their arrest three years ago.

Chuadanga police on October 23, 2005 announced the bounties varying from Tk 20,000 to Tk 5 lakh for information leading to arrest of 20 top outlaws.

They were Janajuddha boss Abdur Rahisd Malitha Tapan alias Dada Tapan, his military commander Abir Hasan and top regional leaders Rabi, Shahjahan, Oltu, Mizanur, Azad, Moka, Shahidul, Khorshed, Tosel and Kismat; PBCP-ML leaders Jamal Uddin alias Rabi alias Nuruzzaman, Shomser, Bidi, Kalu, Communist War boss Ronny Biswas, Habibur Rahman, Thandu, and Amirul.

Six of them including Tapan and Abir Hasan were killed in ‘crossfire’ or ’shootout’ but the rest could not be captured.

Jessore police in a fresh list included around 30 new outlaws or gang leaders last month. Most of them are still active in their respective areas.

The law enforcers confirm some of their names as Hasan of Shankarpur, ‘Buno’ Asad, ‘Bhera’ Shakil, Litu of Bezpara, Torikul alias Sujon, Firoz, ‘Takku” Milon, Bashi Ripon of Kasba, Keramat and Bipul of Birampur, ‘Tak’ Nazim, Nabab of Nawapara, Shipon and Nurunnbai of Dhanpatti, ‘Hatkata” Shimul of Kharki, and Bishe of Arabpur.

In Jhenidah, at least 10 out of 27 top listed criminals are out of law enforcers’ net. At least six other top leaders were killed in ‘encounters’ in the last two months.

Sources in different areas claim despite vigilance by law enforcers, the outlaws are still conducting activities from their hideouts. Some of them are controlling party activities from the neighbouring country through cellphone.

They are staying at different hideouts in West Bengal in India and maintain links with their operatives in Bangladesh through cellphone.

A number of high-ups in Khulna Range police admitted to The Daily Star they have information about activities of the criminals from abroad.

“They are being sheltered by some criminals of a neighbouring country in exchange of large amounts of money,” a top police official said asking not to be identified.

Indian police have recently arrested some of the criminals including the ‘most wanted’ ones and the Bangladesh government, at talks, also asked the Indian authorities for their extradition, he said.

The sources add a number of outlaw bosses have close links with some political leaders in the region.

The police say some leaders of major political parties are involved with various criminal gangs including underground parties. These political leaders use criminals to establish supremacy in their areas and in vote rigging, which is an old tradition, they add.

Earlier, several drives had been conducted in the region to hold the outlaws, but there has been no let-up in their activities.

At least 10 special drives including Operation Clean Heart, Operation Spider Web were launched in last several years. Despite recurrent incidents of ‘crossfire’, the outlaws could not be harnessed.

According to police records and newspapers reports, 512 crossfire deaths took place in the region since June 2004 — 158 in 2004, 108 in 2005, 142 in 2006, 72 in 2007 and the rest in this year so far.

Of the dead, around 40 were top leaders of different outlawed parties and gang groups including PBCP-ML founder Mofakkar Hossain, PBCP divisional commander Mafiz Uddin Mafiz, Janajuddha military operation chief Abir Hasan, NBCP boss Akdil Hossain and Janajuddha boss Tapan.

“It is not possible to root out the outlaws overnight in a region where they are active for about 40 years,” a high-ranking police official told The Daily Star yesterday.

However, their activities are on the wane, he added.

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