Md Sarwar, a top criminal and Shibir cadre, who the police say was one of the main planners behind violence in Bahaddarhat related to the quota reform movement in Chittagong, has been arrested.
He was arrested in the Baluchara area of the port city on Saturday evening, said Zahidul Kabir, officer-in-charge (OC) of Chandgaon police station.
Zahidul said: "There are 14 cases against Sarwar. He is the prime suspect in the July 18 Bahaddarhat police box arson, attack on police, and incidents of murder and gunfire. He will be interrogated, and we will seek a remand from the court."
On July 18 and 19, three people were killed in clashes in Bahaddarhat related to the quota reform movement.
Sarwar, who had been evading capture in the Middle East for an extended period, was previously arrested in February 2020 with a large cache of weapons after returning to Bangladesh. He was later released on bail.
Sarwar and his accomplice Maxon were infamous in Chittagong as associates of the once-violent Shibir cadre led by Sazzad. On July 12, 2000, Sazzad was implicated in the “eight murder” case involving the killing of eight people, including Chhatra League leaders and activists, in the Bahaddarhat area.
After Sazzad's arrest on October 3, 2001, he was released from prison during the BNP's tenure and fled to Dubai. Sarwar and Maxon then apparently took control of the city's criminal underworld along with Sazzad's arsenal.
In 2011, Bayezid Bostami police station arrested Sarwar and Maxon with two AK-47 rifles. After being released on bail in 2017, Sarwar and Maxon went to Qatar.
In November 2022, police recovered the dead body of Maxon, a top criminal listed by the police, from Haridebpur in South Kolkata, India.