Saidur Rahman Shahid alias Shahid Commissioner had been a porter at CSB warehouse of Mill Barrack in the capital’s Gendaria in mid 1980s. Occasionally, he also worked as a small fish trader that time.
He could not complete primary education because of financial crisis. But his children now study abroad. Shahid gradually earned huge property using arms. He owns several residential houses in the capital; and bars and hotels abroad, say police.
Shahid operated several criminal gangs in Sutrapur, Gendaria and Shyampur areas. During the late 90’s, he become godfather of the gangs. Rumours are there that listed criminals Kala Jahangir and Pichchi Hannan were patronised by Shahid Commissioner.
Once a ward-level leader of the Awami League, he was accused in a number of cases filed for murder, extortion, abduction and conspiracy against him. He was convicted in some of the cases and later secured bail from the High Court against the verdicts.
He had been a councillor for the DCC South’s ward 47 (ward 84 of the undivided DCC).
After 2001, he went into hiding; and resumed his activities around five years ago.
Shahid was sentenced to death on May 29, 2003 on charges of shooting lawyer Habibur Rahman Mandal on Chandra Mohan Basak Lane at Banogram of Old Dhaka on August 20, 2000.
A speedy trial tribunal in Dhaka also awarded death sentence to Kala Jahangir and life imprisonment to 10 other accused including Tanoy Mollah in the murder case. But after serving 10 years in prison, Shahid was acquitted by the High Court. Verdict against the other accused were upheld.
Shahid was also made accused in the murder of Shahadat Hossain Sikder, commissioner of ward 90, on September 29, 2003, and Jubo Dal leader Sujan in Sutrapur on May 4, 1999.
Verdict in the two cases have been pending with the High Court, police said.
Shahid was also accused in the killing of Dhalka Nagar’s Selim, Mahbub of Bhattikhana, Bunga Babu of Mill Barrack, Anu and Sentu of Faridabad, Sumon and Mikel of Mill Barrack and Selim from KB Road of Old Dhaka. He served several years in jail in these cases.
There are six murder cases against Shahid and many other cases filed with several police stations of Old Dhaka.
Besides the allegations, top listed terrors Kala Jahangir, Dakat Shahid, and Pichchi Hannan, who was killed in a RAB crossfire, and a number of listed criminals are the co-accused of the Shahid in various cases.
But there has been no murder cases against Shahid after 2003.
In the January 5 general election, Shahid Commissioner contested as an independent candidate from Dhaka 6 constituency even though he is a convicted criminal. He also tried to manage ticket of the Awami League, but failed.
In this constituency, Awami League nominated candidate Mizanur Rahman Dipu died of cardiac arrest a week before the election. HM Ershad-led Jatiya Party leader Kazi Feroz Rashid was a contestant in the same constituency.
However, Shahid lost to Feroz by around 38,000 votes though, earlier he had rejected the election only an hour after the voting started alleging rigging against his rival candidate.
Asked, how a listed criminal could take part in the national poll, Golam Sarwar, commanding officer of RAB 10 said: “The Election Commission decides on this. We could not arrest him as RAB has no authority to nab an aspirant.”
“We will examine exactly how many cases he has currently been facing. He will be show arrested in the cases,” he said.
