The Special Response Battalion (SRB) has arrested Sohel Rana, 38, a death-row convict who escaped from Kashimpur High Security Central Jail, Gazipur following the July uprising.
An operational team from SRB-4 apprehended Rana on Tuesday evening during a drive in the Azimpur area under Singair Police Station in Manikganj district.
Details of the operation were disclosed on Wednesday by SRB-4 Infantry Commander Lt Col Md Hafizur Rahman during a press conference at the SRB-4 Media Centre in Karwan Bazar, Dhaka.
According to the SRB, Rana and the victim, Md Johir, 20, were local neighbours and close friends. Johir had been involved in a long-standing dispute with local top drug dealer Md Sultan.
Sultan subsequently plotted with Rana and several others to lure Johir to Hemayetpur on the pretext of a trip. On their way back, they murdered Johir, chopped his body into six pieces, and dumped the dismembered parts at various spots in a nearby river to conceal the corpse.
Following the murder, Johir’s father filed a case as the plaintiff with Singair Police Station in Manikganj. Upon completing the investigation, the investigating officer submitted a charge sheet accusing Rana. Based on evidence and testimonies, the court sentenced Rana to death in 2019, after which he was transferred to Kashimpur High Security Central Jail.
On 6 August 2024, taking advantage of national instability following the July uprising, Rana escaped from Kashimpur High Security Central Jail after breaking open prison structures and injuring prison guards. He subsequently lived in hiding across various parts of the country prior to his re-arrest.
The SRB official confirmed that Rana has been transferred to the relevant police station to undergo further legal proceedings.
Journalist’s house shot at over drug reports
SRB-4 also arrested Md Atiq, alias Chora Atiq, 22, an active member of the “Bhoira-De” group, in connection with an attack and shooting incident at the residence of a journalist in Dhaka’s Pallabi.
The attack was launched in retaliation for published news reports covering drug syndicates, extortion, and terror activities in the Mirpur and Pallabi areas.
Based on information provided by Atiq, SRB-4 recovered a foreign pistol, an empty magazine, and nine rounds of live ammunition. Lieutenant Colonel Md Hafizur Rahman said at the brief.
According to SRB, the victim journalist, Pranto Parvez – who works for a private television channel – had recently published news detailing extortion and terrorist activities involving the “Bhoira-De” or “Ashik Group.”
Angered by the published report, the group’s chief mastermind, Ashik, ordered his associates to attack the journalist’s house.
At around 1:30 am on 14 September, four-armed men riding two motorcycles arrived at Parvez’s residence in the Sabuj Bangla area of Pallabi searching for him. They subsequently opened fire indiscriminately towards him before escaping the scene.
The journalist later filed a case with Pallabi Police Station.
Following the incident, an investigation team from SRB-4 analysed technological data, CCTV footage, and intelligence inputs, which identified the involvement of a suspect named Robin (22). On the afternoon of 15 September, SRB raided Robin’s home in the Taltola Slum area of Pallabi.
Although Robin managed to flee, his mother, Mst Doli Begum (45), was arrested at the scene. Acting on a secret tip-off, SRB officers later arrested Atiq, an FIR-named accused, at around 1:30am on Tuesday night in the Mohammadia Market area of Pallabi.
Interrogation of Atiq revealed details regarding the locations of Robin, Ibrahim, Shaheen alias Shooter Shaheen (25), and Al Amin. Law enforcers subsequently conducted a raid in Section-11, Avenue-5 of Pallabi, where the suspects fled upon sensing the presence of the SRB team.
Officers recovered a foreign pistol, an empty magazine, and nine rounds of ammunition from behind a tin-shed house in that area.
During the initial raid at Robin’s residence, officers seized 745 Yaba tablets and 15 grams of Yaba powder from Doli Begum, with an estimated market value of Tk2.70 lakh.
In a separate drive conducted in Pallabi on the same night, SRB arrested Md Niloy Sujon, 31, an active juvenile gang member, recovering six mobile phones, two sharp cleavers, and a pouch of marijuana from his possession.
Lt Col Hafizur Rahman noted that gang members had long been displaying illegal arms to intimidate residents in Pallabi’s Sabuj Bangla, Bauniabandh, Avenue-5, and surrounding areas.
He added that law enforcement drives remain ongoing to arrest group leader Ashik and other individuals involved in criminal acts, urging the public to assist by sharing information.
