Illegal arms, gang clashes rattle Ctg ahead of polls – missing looted weapons deepen worry

Infographics: TBS

With the national election drawing near, Chattogram's political landscape resonates with gunfire instead of slogans. 35 people killed in just over a year – 22 by gunfire, others beaten or stabbed. 

Fifteen deaths stem from political feuds, turning the city's electoral campaign trail into a battlefield.

During a recent campaign in Chattogram 8 constituency, BNP heavyweight Ershad Ullah was surrounded by supporters when chaos erupted. Just a few steps ahead, Sarwar Hossain Babla, a listed criminal, was shot dead – seven to eight rounds were fired at point-blank range.

Only days earlier, businessman and BNP activist Abdul Hakim was ambushed near Madunaghat Bridge. Motorcycle-borne assailants fired 22 rounds, killing him instantly and wounding his driver. Police said the attack was linked to a dispute over a sand terminal, now settled with bullets.

Behind these killings lies a shadow network of illegal firearms, many traced to the looting of police stations during the July uprising. 948 weapons were stolen, of which 793 were recovered till October, leaving 155 still missing. These include 12-bore shotguns, Chinese rifles, pistols, and submachine guns. Police reports suggest some looted weapons were resold illicitly, compounding public risk.

Among recovered arms were 359 shotguns, 87 Chinese rifles, 68 nine-millimetre pistols, 189 gas guns, 54 SMGs, and several tear-gas launchers, seized across Chattogram, Chandpur, and Bagerhat. Law enforcement notes that shotguns and pistols are particularly dangerous due to their concealability and ease of use in robberies, political hits, or extortion.

During the July-August 2024 unrest, police identified 46 armed individuals attacking protesters, but arrested only 20; just two firearms were recovered. That unrest left 14 dead and generated 65 cases across seven police stations.

Advocate Akhtar Kabir Chowdhury, secretary of Shujan Chattogram, told TBS, "These film-style killings will inevitably influence the election. The unchecked spread of illegal weapons and the failure to recover the looted ones are deeply alarming. Law enforcers must neutralise the armed networks before polling begins."

BNP Standing Committee member Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury condemned the killing, warning it could be a "deliberate attempt to disrupt the electoral process." 

Leaders across party lines, including Jamaat-e-Islami, expressed alarm, highlighting the threat to electoral stability and the unchecked influence of politically backed criminal networks.

The turf and the gun

At the core of this violence are long-standing criminal networks intertwined with the political arena.

The infamous Boro Sajjad, known to be a Bangladeshi Islami Chhatra Shibir-backed cadre, rose to notoriety since 1999 for the killing of councillor Liakat Ali Khan, is believed to direct operations from abroad, with a "proxy army" controlling Bayezid, Chandgaon, and Panchlaish. 

Police and Babla's family allege his involvement in Babla's murder. 

His trusted aide, Chhoto Sajjad, who entered the underworld in 2019, continues to exert influence from prison through loyal armed followers, expanding control over local businesses, transport routes, and extortion networks after August 2024.

On the ground, Raihan Alam, a Raozan-based target killing expert, executes their operations, overseeing multiple recent killings, including Babla and Tahsin. His close associate, Mobarak Hossain Imon, a skilled shooter from Fatikchhari, has been implicated in murders, extortion, and arms-related attacks. 

These overlapping networks have transformed Chattogram into a city divided by invisible borders, where power and protection are enforced through violence.
CMP Deputy Commissioner (North) Amirul Islam reiterated the force's determination to rein in the criminal network, "Boro Sajjad is controlling the network from abroad, with Raihan as his principal executor. We are conducting multiple operations to detain him."

A city on edge

From January to September this year, Chattogram metropolitan and district police, along with RAB, have seized 145 illegal firearms. The use of these weapons has contributed to a rise in crime across the city.

RAB-7's Assistant Director (Media), A R M Mozzaffar Hossain, told TBS, "Many of the firearms used in recent incidents do not match the stolen police weapons. These included locally made single-barrel and one-shooter guns, as well as foreign weapons. The local firearms are manufactured in Chattogram's coastal areas."

The coastal areas of Banshkhali, the hills of Rangunia, and several locations in Cox's Bazar – including Maheshkhali, Kutubdia, and Eidgaon – have become hubs for manufacturing firearms such as single-barrel guns, LGs, wooden-stock rifles, pipe guns, and one-shooter guns, selling for Tk30,000 to over Tk100,000.

In addition, foreign weapons enter through Myanmar and India, creating a hidden market for illegal arms.

Countdown to a tense poll

In Bayezid, Chandgaon, and Raozan, residents now measure safety by which streets remain unpatrolled at night. Sporadic gunfire and masked men on motorbikes have become familiar hazards. Civil society voices warn that unchecked arms circulation will not only compromise public safety but also distort the political process. 

Chattogram University criminology expert Md Sakhawat Hossain told TBS: "Information about illegal arms routes is available in government records. Law enforcement must act. If these weapons are not recovered, they could influence elections in multiple ways and obstruct the electoral process."

CMP Assistant Commissioner (Media) Aminur Rashid said: "Routine drives are underway to seize both locally made and foreign weapons, including those used during last year's protests. Operations to recover looted arms continue."

As polling day approaches, however, the contrast between official efforts and daily reality remains striking: can citizens fully exercise their democratic right when nights are still punctuated by gunfire, and the balance of power is shaped by armed networks? Chattogram waits, wary, between the promise of security and the persistence of violence.