A violent struggle for control of the drug trade, extortion and territorial influence along Gendaria’s railway corridor has emerged as the driving force behind Sunday night’s gunfight in Swamibagh Munsirtek, where rival groups turned a narrow residential alley into a battleground and left three bystanders shot.
At the centre of the conflict are two competing networks, one linked by police and locals to jailed alleged drug dealer “Auto Sajal” and the other to local BNP leader Md Monir Hossain.
Police and local sources said the groups have been locked in a long-running dispute over control of the drug trade and dominance around the Gendaria railway line.
Both sides face allegations of involvement in illegal firearms, drugs, extortion and other criminal activities.
Dhaka Tribune visited Munsirtek on Tuesday, spoke to witnesses and residents and reviewed CCTV footage and police information to reconstruct what led to the gunfight.
Two days after the violence, fear remained palpable. Some shops were closed, while residents were reluctant to discuss what they had witnessed.
Battle for control
According to residents, Sajal had long maintained influence over the drug trade along the railway corridor, with one local resident claiming his network stretched from Sayedabad to Kamalapur.
But the balance began changing after August 2024, locals alleged, as Monir’s followers increasingly sought control over drugs and extortion in parts of the area.
The rivalry intensified after police arrested Sajal and eight associates with six firearms during a raid in Sayedabad on June 18. They remain in jail.
Some residents alleged that Sajal’s imprisonment created an opening for Monir to expand his network and seek greater control of the area.
They also claimed his interest in contesting for councillor in the upcoming local government elections was connected to his attempts to strengthen his local influence.
Monir, however, rejected allegations that he was attempting to take control of the drug trade or extortion.
What triggered Sunday’s gunfight?
The immediate confrontation began earlier on Sunday.
According to multiple witnesses, CCTV footage and police information, Monir and his followers allegedly went to the home of Auto Sajal’s father, Alam, and uncle Russell and assaulted them.
Later that afternoon, Monir’s followers detained three youths -- Rakib, Billal and Rifat -- near the Gendaria railway line on allegations of selling drugs.
The three were taken to Monir’s office, allegedly beaten and subsequently handed over to police.
Police said 96 yaba pills and 30-35 packets of marijuana were recovered from them.
Shortly after police left, a group of around 25-30 people entered Munsirtek Street from the Karatitola end and attacked Monir’s office.
Gunfire erupted, shops were vandalised and the two sides chased each other through the neighbourhood.
“The intensity of the shooting was so high that it was not clear who was doing it or from which direction,” shopkeeper Idris Mia told Dhaka Tribune.
Some shopkeepers managed to pull down their shutters, while others fled, leaving their shops open.
Electricity also went out during the attack, plunging the alley into darkness and intensifying the panic.
Police said Monir himself fired a pistol during the confrontation and that the firearm was unlicensed.
Police recovered 20 spent bullet casings and one intact bullet from the scene.
Political rivalry enters the equation
The fight for influence also has a political dimension.
A section of local BNP leaders and activists alleged that former councillor and Gendaria Thana BNP President Maqbool Islam Tipu considers both Monir and Auto Sajal rivals.
Local residents had earlier submitted complaints to the DMP commissioner alleging drugs, extortion and criminal activities involving Tipu, while allegations have also been made that Sajal operated his drug business under Tipu’s protection.
These claims have not been independently established.
Tipu rejected the allegations and instead accused Monir of attempting to establish himself locally, engage in extortion and obtain “benefits” from the administration.
He acknowledged that some of Sajal’s followers were associated with juvenile gangs and the drug trade along the railway line, but criticised the alleged assault on Sajal’s father.
Monir offered a different account.
He said he had taken the initiative to catch three drug dealers and hand them over to police, prompting people involved in the drug trade to attack his office.
He claimed to have identified Sajal’s father and nephew among the attackers.
Bystanders pay the price
Caught between the competing groups were people with no apparent connection to their rivalry.
Siam, 18, had come to Swamibagh to help take his sick aunt to a doctor.
He was sitting at his uncle’s shop when the shooting began.
“Suddenly, many people were coming screaming,” he said.
As they tried to shut the shop, a bullet pierced the shutter and struck his right shoulder.
Tea seller Alamgir, 33, was shot in the forehead before he could close his shop and later underwent surgery.
Asha Akter, 20, was also shot, with an X-ray showing a bullet lodged in her waist. Doctors were preparing to remove it.
Were looted police guns used?
Investigators are now trying to determine where the firearms used in the clash came from.
Intelligence sources said preliminary findings raised suspicion that weapons looted from police during the August 2024 unrest may have been used.
However, police stressed that this has not been confirmed.
“We are not sure whether the shooting was done with the looted weapons or not. The matter will be clear once the weapons are recovered,” DMP Wari Division Deputy Commissioner Mallik Ahsan Uddin Sami said.
He was clearer about the underlying cause: “The issue of the shooting is definitely based on dominance.”
Despite three people being shot and firearms being used openly, no case had been filed at Gendaria Police Station as of Tuesday.
Police said CCTV footage from several locations was being analysed, with at least five or six people seen participating in the clash being identified and their roles verified.
For residents of Munsirtek, however, the consequences of the fight for control are already visible.
Two days after the bullets stopped, the alley remained subdued, shops partly shuttered and residents reluctant to speak about the rival networks operating around them.