A disturbing method of settling property disputes is emerging on the streets of Dhaka: gather scores or hundreds of men, transport them to a disputed property, overwhelm those in possession and establish control by force.
In just three days, four properties across the capital were attacked in incidents involving vandalism, looting or alleged attempts to seize possession, from the demolition of the Radda MCH-FP Centre in Mirpur and a mass incursion into a Mohammadpur property to an armed attack on a residential building in Adabor and the late-night rampage that destroyed content creator Salman Muqtadir’s studio at ECB Chattar.
The incidents differed in their details and the competing claims of ownership remain subject to investigation and legal determination.
But a common thread runs through them: property disputes or attempts to establish possession being pursued through organised manpower rather than the courts.
Detective Branch chief and Dhaka Metropolitan Police Additional Commissioner Md Shafiqul Islam told Dhaka Tribune that numerous cases of possession and counter-possession had emerged in the capital since the political change of August 5, 2024.
In many cases, he said, people who previously lost possession of property are now trying to reclaim it, while both sides claim ownership and produce documents in support of their claims.
But Shafiqul stressed that neither ownership claims nor previous possession gave anyone the right to take property back by force.
“Regardless of who the legal owner is, reclaiming possession requires a court case,” he said. “Lawful possession must be established through a court order with police assistance.”
“Resorting to attacks and gunfire constitutes a criminal offence, and those involved in such acts will not be spared.”
The emerging pattern has alarmed residents and crime experts because of the scale of manpower being mobilised and the apparent ease with which groups can be assembled for such operations.
At least 27 people have been arrested in connection with the four incidents, according to police information compiled by Dhaka Tribune.
Four attacks in three days
The first of the four incidents took place at Radda MCH-FP Centre in Mirpur-1 early Friday, when more than 200 masked men allegedly entered the premises, held security guards hostage, looted equipment and other valuables and demolished structures with heavy machinery.
The scale of the destruction prompted questions over the police response.
A preliminary police inquiry subsequently found that officers were at the scene as valuables were loaded onto a vehicle but failed to take effective action before it left.
Shah Ali Police Station Officer-in-Charge Jahangir Alam has since been withdrawn.
The following morning, several hundred people descended on a disputed property in Chand Udyan Housing in Mohammadpur.
An office was vandalised, cash and equipment were allegedly looted, and the property was subsequently fenced off with corrugated sheets.
In Adabor, meanwhile, 15 to 20 men, some allegedly carrying machetes and other weapons, attempted to enter an eight-storey residential building in Shyamoli Housing in another dispute over possession.
Then came the attack at ECB Chattar on Saturday night.
Gunshots rang out as a large group stormed the New Gini Properties compound, vandalising structures and looting property.
Brownfish Studio, established there by content creator Salman Muqtadir, was among the facilities devastated in the attack.
The four incidents over three days have sharpened concerns over whether organised manpower is increasingly being used as an instrument in property disputes, particularly when political change alters the balance of influence over contested land.
‘We couldn’t sleep’
For residents caught near the violence, arguments over deeds and possession mean little when hundreds of men and weapons arrive in their neighbourhoods.
Farhad Khan, who lives in a seven-storey building on the main road at ECB Chattar, said his family was terrified by the gunfire during Saturday night’s attack.
“We couldn’t sleep out of fear on the night of the incident. The sound of gunfire woke up our young children,” he told Dhaka Tribune.
“The government needs to crack down on these people sternly.”
Fear was also evident in Adabor.
Monir Hossain, nephew of building owner Aminur Rahman, said the property had been seized after August 5 before the owners legally regained possession in March this year.
The family alleges Saturday’s armed attack was another attempt to take control.
“We are living in fear and cannot even step out of the house,” Monir said. “We seek security from the government.”
Salman studio attack: Police point to land dispute
The attack on Salman Muqtadir’s Brownfish Studio initially drew particular attention because the content creator alleged that extortion was behind the violence.
Police investigations, however, have so far pointed primarily to a dispute over the property on which the studio was located.
Police say Salman was not the intended target.
Investigators say a longstanding dispute existed involving New Gini Properties and owners of adjacent land. Salman had rented space at the property to establish Brownfish Studio.
A case over the attack names retired Major General Golam Mohiuddin Chowdhury and 12 others, alongside 150 to 200 unidentified people.
New Gini Properties director Md Saiful Islam Bhuiyan filed the case with Cantonment Police Station.
According to the complaint, the attackers vandalised computers, laptops, furniture and other equipment and allegedly took cash, construction materials and equipment worth several crore taka.
Those figures remain allegations contained in the case statement rather than independently established losses.
There are sharply conflicting accounts over the underlying land dispute.
New Gini representatives allege that the attackers were attempting to seize their property, while people claiming ownership of adjacent land accuse the developer of previously taking control of part of their land through political influence.
Those competing ownership claims cannot be resolved from the available documents and will ultimately require legal determination.
As of Monday afternoon, police had arrested six people over the attack on New Gini Properties and Brownfish Studio.
Among them is Shah Alam Anik, who told investigators he is a joint convener of Muktijoddha Projonmo League.
Police have also arrested Shahriar, identified by investigators as an alleged main planner, along with Md Mamun, Aslam and Munna.
Investigations and operations to arrest other suspects are continuing.
‘No one will escape accountability’
DMP Commissioner Mosleh Uddin Ahmed has promised action irrespective of the political or social identities of those involved.
“We will not consider any political party or ideology; we will focus on identifying the perpetrators,” he said.
“Anyone involved in illegal activities, including unlawful land grabbing, will be brought to justice regardless of their political or social standing. No one will escape accountability for crimes; action will be taken even if police personnel are involved.”
The pledge assumes added significance after the preliminary inquiry into the Radda attack found failures by police officers who were present while property was being removed.
Dhaka University faculty member and crime and social issues researcher Dr Tauhidul Haque said the competition to seize property following political change was symptomatic of a deeper failure of the rule of law.
He argued that organised attacks, shootings, vandalism and looting surrounding property disputes would continue unless law enforcement agencies became more effective on the ground.
He also alleged that major organised crimes often involve links between influential political actors and known criminals, and warned that the apparent inability of police to intervene effectively in some incidents sent an alarming signal about law and order.
“The solution to these problems must come from political leaders themselves,” he told Dhaka Tribune, calling for firm action against those using force to take control of property.
