Two shootings in Khulna on the day of the IGP's visit: Jubo Dal leader shot in the morning, businessman in the evening
In Khulna, in two separate incidents on the same day, a Jubo Dal leader and a businessman were injured in shootings by criminals. On Saturday (24 October) they were shot in Terokhada Upazila in the morning and in South Tutpara in the city in the evening. Most significantly, both incidents took place on the very day Inspector General of Police (IGP) Md Ali Hossain Fakir was himself visiting Khulna and attending a citizens' assembly in the city.
The first incident took place in the morning in Terokhada. At around 11:15am on Saturday, Md Ramim Biswas (32) was seriously injured by gunfire from criminals who came on a motorcycle near Khan Bricks on the Senerbazar–Madhupur road in Parhaji village of the upazila. He was later rescued and sent to Khulna Medical College Hospital.
Ramim Biswas is president of Ward No. 3 Jubo Dal of Madhupur Union No. 6 in Terokhada Upazila. He is a resident of Parhaji village and the son of Habibur Biswas. Local Ward No. 3 UP member Md Bellal Molla said Ramim was going to Kolabazar by van in the morning. While he was seated in the van, criminals who came on a motorcycle fired at him.
Police said that at the time of the incident Ramim was sitting in a van in front of Aynal Molla's house in Parhaji village. At that time unknown criminals who came on a motorcycle fired at him from behind. A bullet hit him in the ribs and on the right side of his back. After firing, the criminals quickly fled the scene. Hearing the sound of gunfire, local people rushed in and rescued him and sent him to hospital.
On receiving the news, Terokhada police visited the scene and collected evidence. Terokhada police station Officer-in-Charge (Investigation) Kabir Ahmed said, 'The shot Jubo Dal leader is out of danger. His treatment is ongoing. It is initially suspected that the incident may have taken place over a drug-related dispute.'
The second incident took place in the evening in Khulna city. At around 7pm, criminals shot a grocery shopkeeper named Akash Kumar Kundu (45) in front of the Gachtala temple on South Tutpara Cross Road in the city. The bullet pierced his abdomen. The shot Akash is the son of Shib Pada Kundu, a resident of the lane east of the Tutpara Gachtala temple.
Khulna Sadar police station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Md Lokman Hossain confirmed the incident and said three helmet-wearing youths who came on a motorcycle fired at Akash and fled. Later local people rescued him and took him to Khulna Medical College Hospital. He is alive, the OC said. Police are at the scene after the incident and who was involved is being investigated, he added. Both injured men were taken to Khulna Medical College Hospital.
Meanwhile, on Saturday morning IGP Md Ali Hossain Fakir was present at a citizens' assembly on community policing for Khulna Division at Boyra Police Lines in Khulna. After the assembly he spoke to journalists. OC (Investigation) Kabir Ahmed said the Terokhada police station OC was present at the IGP's citizens' assembly. The distance from the assembly venue to the shooting scene is about 20 kilometres and the zones responsible for law and order in the two places are also separate.
At the assembly the IGP said, 'If force is used to maintain law and order, police are called fascist, and if force is not used, they are considered weak. Over the past 17 years a distance has been created between police and the people. Drugs have been established in society. Police are working to resolve this situation.' The fact that two shootings took place on the very day of this statement has raised fresh questions about Khulna's law and order situation.
The Inspector General of Police further said, 'A legal framework is being created with the approval of the home and finance ministries to make law enforcement agencies more effective. Under it, community policing will work as a branch of the police.' He said nationwide joint operations are under way to control juvenile gangs, extortion and drugs. An initiative is also being taken to enact a new law giving police the power to file cases on their own initiative in extortion allegations without a victim's complaint.
Khulna Additional Superintendent of Police Abir Siddiqui Shuvra said police are working to identify and arrest those involved in the Terokhada incident. The process of taking legal action in the incident is under way. Police surveillance has also been strengthened in the concerned area. Police are investigating why Ramim Biswas was targeted, who was involved and what kind of dispute lies behind it.
Shootings in Khulna are not new. On 22 October, two people were shot dead in Khulna city within just 14 hours. At dawn that day, a youth named Tawhidul Islam Tushar (32) was shot dead by criminals of a rival group in the East Baniakhamar area of the city. In the evening of the same day, a housewife named Khushi Begum (25) was shot in the head and hacked to death by criminals in front of her mother in the Jinnapara Boubazar area of Labonchara. Before the impact of those incidents had faded, two more shootings took place on Saturday.
As a result, Khulna's law and order situation is now the biggest topic of discussion. The fact that two people were shot at two ends on the day of the IGP's visit and citizens' assembly has raised questions about police surveillance and prevention. Attention will now be on whether the police investigation brings out the causes behind the two incidents and the identities of those involved, and how quickly arrests and legal action follow, for the people of Khulna.
