Two helmeted gunmen fired on Anurag Pharmacy on Babar Road in Mohammadpur, Dhaka, at 11:01pm on Friday, partially breaking its thick front glass in an attack that, according to one sales employee, narrowly missed his head, Prothom Alo reported.
Sales staff were handing medicine to a customer when a bullet struck the glass. Another shot was fired moments later. Panic spread among employees, customers and pedestrians.
‘Perhaps I would not have been alive’
Pharmacy sales employee Moin Uddin described the incident to Prothom Alo on Saturday afternoon in a frightened voice. He said: “The thick glass broke with a loud bang. Within moments, another bullet pierced the glass and passed beside my head. The bullet missed my head by a narrow margin. Otherwise, perhaps I would not have been alive today.”
Moin said the two helmet-wearing men were walking away quite normally after firing the shots. As several people were together at the pharmacy, they gathered the courage to chase the attackers. However, as soon as they came out and followed them, one of the men pulled out a large machete and threatened them. As a result, no one else dared to move forward. Later, the two attackers and another person got on a motorcycle and fled along the main road.
Jamil Islam, a sales employee at the pharmacy, told Prothom Alo that three people arrived on a motorcycle. One of them waited with the motorcycle some distance away, in front of Bangladesh Pharma. The other two went in front of the pharmacy and carried out the attack. One of them was carrying a large machete. After the attack, they got on the motorcycle and quickly left along the main road.
CCTV footage
Footage from several CCTV cameras at nearby establishments captured the attack. Footage from one camera shows pedestrians moving normally along the footpath and road in front of the pharmacy. A white microbus was parked in front. Some distance away, a person was waiting with a motorcycle.
It was then 11:01pm. One of the two men, wearing a panjabi and a helmet, walked along the footpath. The other went towards the pharmacy along the main road. The shooting took place at this point. They then left the scene. Several people can be seen moving forward to chase them.
Alleged delay in police arrival
The distance between Anurag Pharmacy and the office of the deputy commissioner of police of the Tejgaon Division is approximately 500 metres. Moin Uddin alleged that immediately after the incident, they called the emergency service 999 and sought police assistance. However, nearly half an hour after receiving the call, a police team from the police station arrived at the scene and collected information from them.
Anurag Pharmacy is located beside the main road towards Shyamoli, opposite the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases. A visit to the location on Saturday afternoon found that beside the pharmacy, there are two consecutive restaurants and a super shop under the same establishment’s name. The glass at the front of the pharmacy had shattered and was scattered around after the shooting. However, customers were still visiting the premises.
Owner, an absconding ex-councillor, alleges Tk50 lakh extortion demand
An official involved in the police investigation told Prothom Alo that the establishment’s owner, Syed Hasan Nur Islam (Raston), is a former councillor of Ward 32 of Dhaka South City Corporation. He was Awami League-backed and is an accused in several cases filed after the mass uprising on August 5, 2024. He is currently absconding. The official said that although the owner was absconding, his businesses were still operating, and his political rivals from his own party or another group might be trying to take advantage of the situation surrounding the operation of his businesses. However, the investigation is considering several possible reasons.
Nur Islam, who is listed as an absconding accused in police records, told Prothom Alo over the mobile phone on Saturday evening that he is a businessman and a former councillor of the area, with no personal enmity or dispute with anyone. “I have never engaged in the politics of attacks and cases. I have a good reputation in the area,” he said. He listed the businesses in the building as Anurag Pharma, Anurag Restaurant, a Chinese restaurant, a super shop and a telecom business.
He alleged that on November 6, he received a phone call from a local mobile number demanding Tk50 lakh in extortion money. The caller used the names “Killer Badal” and “Killer Pappu”. He was threatened that if he did not pay, shots would be fired at his establishment Anurag, and everything would be vandalised and set on fire. He said he refused, ended the call and blocked the number, which was later handed over to law enforcement agencies. He claimed the attack was carried out because he had refused to pay.
He said that on November 5, a day before the extortion demand, two cocktails were exploded in front of the establishment, and several pedestrians were injured. After the demand on November 6, another cocktail attack took place on November 7. Then, on November 13, two shots were fired at the establishment, and the glass at the front of the pharmacy broke. No one was injured or killed. He said a written complaint about the shooting was submitted to the police station on Saturday.
Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) of the Tejgaon Division Md Juel Rana told Prothom Alo on Saturday evening that the incident was under investigation. CCTV footage was being analysed and other information and evidence were being examined to uncover the actual mystery of the incident and identify those involved and bring them under the law.