3 shot dead in Jhenaidah, 'Jasod Gono Bahini' claims responsibility

In a WhatsApp message today (22 February), a contact claiming to be a leader of the so-called Jasod Gono Bahini claimed responsibility for the killings of three people shot dead in Jhenaidah's Shailkupa upazila on 21 February night.

The murders took place at Ramchandrapur Tribeni Crematory, also known as "Piarpur five murder area" of the upazila around 11pm on Friday, said Masum Khan, officer-in-charge (OC) of Shailkupa police station.

The deceased three were identified as Abu Hanif aka Hanif Ali, 56, a leader of the ultra-left Purbo Banglar Communist Party, his brother-in-law Liton, 35, and Raisul, according to police.

The sender, claiming to be Kalu, a leader of Jasod Gono Bahini, wrote in  the WhatsApp message sent to local journalists, "Purbo Banglar Communist Party member and infamous robber Hanif and his two associates have been killed by Jasod Gono Bahini due to allegations of enforced disappearance, murder, land grabbing, rape, and robbery against them.

"We are warning Hanif's associates in Jhenaidah and the adjacent districts to refrain from these crimes. Otherwise, they will have to bear the same fate," the message reads.

While there is still confusion regarding the identity of the contact, extremists' involvement is suspected in the triple murder.   

However, Jhenaidah Superintendent of Police, Manjur Morshed, told TBS that there has been no visible extremist activity in the area over the past decade.

Preliminary investigations reveal that Hanif Ali, who was killed, had a dispute with Kalu over the possession of a pond. It is believed that the murder may have been a result of this conflict, though other possible reasons cannot be ruled out, he said.

According to police, the locals found the bodies of the deceased beside an irrigation canal after the firing stopped. They informed police, who later went to the spot and recovered the bodies.

"The three were shot in the chest and head. Police are working at the scene," OC Masum said.

3 people shot dead in Jhenaidah

Police recovered two black Bajaj Pulsar motorcycles and a magazine of bullets from the spot.

According to locals, Hanif was a death-row criminal. A lower court had given an order to hang him in a case filed over the killing of Abdur Rahman from Kulbaria village under Harinakundu upazila of the district. 

Although the higher court also kept the lower court order, Hanif came back to his area after getting pardoned by former president Abdul Hamid under Sheikh Hasina's government.

8 killed at the same spot in a decade

According to a Prothom Alo report citing locals, on 5 December 2023, "extremists" killed five people in the same area. Additionally, around five to six years ago, two people were killed here. Another person was killed, and the body was left behind in the same place.

Locals told the newspaper that Kalu, in whose name the WhatsApp message claiming responsibility for the murders was sent, is from West Abdolpur village in Abdolpur union, Kushtia Sadar upazila. 

He has been absent from the area for over two decades and is a top leader of an extremist group. He commands his own armed faction and has been living in India for many years. 

There are also rumours that he recently returned to the country.