Everyone might be preoccupied with Narayanganj right now, but the southern coastal district of Lakshmipur has recently become synonymous for terror, with political murders happening virtually every other day, all seemingly unnoticed.
According to Lakshmipur police, at least 42 people were killed in the district between December last year and May this year.
Among the victims, 12 were leaders and activists of the ruling Awami League, nine belonged to the BNP-Jamaat clan and three were businessmen.
There are more similarities between Narayanganj and Lakshmipur. According to police and local residents, most of the reported cases of murders were the result of feuds regarding the establishment supremacy, extortion and drug trade.
The latest incident was reported on Tuesday in which Ismail Hossain Khokhon, activist of the ruling party’s youth front Jubo League, was allegedly killed over a feud trying to establish supremacy in Charsha union under Chandraganj police station.
Abu Taher is one name that has surfaced repeatedly whenever one talked about murders in Lakshmipur.
The mayor of the Lakshmipur Municipality and a leader of the ruling party, Abu Taher reportedly wants to establish his supremacy in the area; but the biggest obstacle in the way of his ambition is M Alauddin, president of the local Awami League.
In December last year, 56 local Awami League leaders and activists, led by Taher, resigned, protesting Alauddin’s “unfair decisions.”
They alleged that Alauddin did not consult them and chose his own candidates for the post of councillor in local upazilas.
With the local party council scheduled to be held in November, Taher is reportedly looking to become the chief of local Awami League. With that as his aim, he and his men had been allegedly staging a lot of violence in Chandraganj, Alauddin’s home.
Local political leaders said if Taher could prove that Alauddin had failed to keep his own area under control, Taher’s chances of taking Alauddin’s place would be stronger.
Other than Taher, another name that has been mentioned repeatedly in connection with the Chandraganj murders, is “Nasir Bahini.”
Sources said the criminal group is entirely loyal to Taher. They take all orders from Taher’s son Salauddin Tipu, a top leader of local Jubo League. Nasir, leader of the group, is also known as a supporter of the ruling party.
They also said many of the recent murders were carried out by the criminals of the Nasir Bahini.
In recent times, another criminal group called the Jeeshan Bahini have surfaced as a rival for the Nasir group. Jeeshan is a local BNP leader and his men have been reportedly trying to snatch some of Taher’s businesses.
Interestingly, Jeeshan is also known for having a good relationship with Alauddin.
On May 18, Chandraganj union Chhatra League vice-president Noman Hossain and BNP activist Jahangir Alam were killed in a clash in the area. Noman and Jahangir belonged to Nasir and Jeeshan groups respectively.
The clash erupted over trying to get hold of the tender for the construction of a market in Chandraganj.
On May 26, the body of Jubo League activist Roman was found at Madanpur village under the Bakshipur Union of the upazila.
Roman’s wife Shathi Begum alleged that local residents Sourov and two others called her husband’s cell phone around 11pm and called him outside.
Sources said Sourov and the other two were all employees of the Lakshmipur Municipality. Roman, on the other hand, is known to be very close to Alauddin.
According to local residents, Roman has openly opposed Taher and his men in the area in the past.
Shah Mizan Shafiur Rahman, superintended of Lakshmipur police, told the Dhaka Tribune: “In most cases, we have found that the murders were the result of internal party conflicts. We are trying to track down the criminals and major raids are underway at the moment.”
Talking to the Dhaka Tribune, Alauddin claimed that only some of the local Awami League men might have links with the criminal groups.
Asked what he knew about Taher, Alauddin said: “He [Taher] is the municipality mayor and member of the district committee of the Awami League; and his son Tipu is the chairman of the Sadar Upazila. That is all I know about them.”
However, Ruhul Amin, organising secretary of Lakshmipur chapter of Awami League, said: “As far as we know, all tenders in the district are distributed by Taher and Tipu. Only those, who have good relations with them, get the tenders.”
Snubbing out the allegations against him, Taher told the Dhaka Tribune that he was not involved with politics; but if he was given the responsibility to run the local Awami League, he would take all possible steps for ensuring peace.
Asked about the killings for which his men were blamed, Taher said: “I am the municipality mayor. I can only tell you about the developments in my area. The questions you are asking are to be answered by police and the local political leaders.”
Asked about the situation in Lakshmipur, Hassan Mahmood Khandker, inspector general of police, said: “Police is doing its duty to maintain law and order in the district. Investigation is underway into the killings and all necessary steps have been taken to bring the situation under control.”