Seven Murdered Over Illegal Red Sea Sand Mining

Violent clashes over the control of lucrative, illegal sand mining on the chars (river islands) of the Padma River have resulted in seven fatalities within the last nine months. The territorial disputes involve multiple heavily armed criminal syndicates operating across the riverine borders of Natore’s Lalpur, Rajshahi’s Bagha, Pabna’s Ishwardi, and Kushtia’s Daulatpur. Millions of taka are generated through this illicit sand trade, fueling ongoing gang warfare and arms smuggling near the Indian border.

The latest casualty occurred on Tuesday, 16 June 2026, when the bullet-riddled body of 45-year-old Sahabul Islam was recovered from a drifting boat in the Writer Char area of the Padma River, under Lalpur Upazila. The deceased was identified as the son of Yunus Pramanik, a resident of Sara Gopalpur village in Pabna’s Ishwardi Upazila. Shafiqul Islam, the Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Lalpur Police Station, stated that assailants standing on the riverbank opened fire indiscriminately at dawn, killing Islam. A fisherman was also severely injured during the shooting and has been admitted to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital. Local farmers stated to the daily newspaper Ittefaq that tensions skyrocketed following another incident on 9 June, when the body of a young man was found inside a drifting speedbotoat in the Char Jazira area.

Escalation of Fatalities and Gang Rivalries

According to police and investigative sources, the seven fatalities were divided between the latter half of 2025 and the first half of 2026. Four of the assassinations occurred during the first six months of 2026, while the remaining three took place between October and November 2025. The victims are reportedly affiliated with or targets of the notorious “Kakon Bahini” and its rival syndicates.

The chronological breakdown of these targeted killings is detailed below:

Fatalities Recorded along the Padma Chars (Past 9 Months)

Law enforcement agencies have officially blacklisted 11 active gang syndicates operating in the area. These include the Kakon, Mondal, Tuku, Sayeed, Lalchand, Rakhi, Sharif Kaigi, Rajzak, Challis, Bahanuj, and Sukchand-Naharul syndicates. Among these, the Kakon Bahini is identified as a primary perpetrator of extortion, hostage-taking, and armed violence.

Law Enforcement and the Genesis of the Syndicates

Following the killing on 18 May, a massive joint law enforcement sweep was conducted across the chars. Authorities recovered an array of contraband and weaponry, including seven pistols, two locally manufactured guns, 24 rounds of ammunition, five motorcycles, motorized boats, speedboats, storage cylinders, and dozens of sharp bladed weapons (including 22 hasuas, six large daggers, four knives, and two meat cleavers). Serajul Haque, the Officer-in-Charge of Bagha Police Station, confirmed that police arrested 203 suspects under an initiative dubbed “Operation First Light”.

Additionally, on 17 July, a joint force comprising the Bangladesh Army, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), and Police raided a Kakon Bahini hideout at Diar Bahadur Molla Traders’ sand quarry in Natore. The operation yielded three pistols, 48 bullets, a human skull, narcotics, and 1,236,000 BDT in cash. Because the riverine terrain borders India, these syndicates are able to smuggle illegal firearms into the region.

The criminal landscape traces back twenty years to the emergence of two dominant factions: the “Panna Bahini” and the “Kakon Bahini”. Archival media reports indicate that their historical turf wars resulted in at least 41 deaths. In April 2005, the leader of the Panna faction, known simply as Panna, was killed in a shootout with law enforcement. Shortly thereafter, his chief rival, Lalchand, along with 25 other gang members, were killed in subsequent gunfights, briefly restoring order.

The current head of the active faction is Md. Hasanuzzaman Kakon, also known as Engineer Kakon. Originally from Mazdiar village in Kushtia’s Daulatpur Upazila, his family relocated to Ishwardi Upazila in 2001 following his alleged involvement in a local murder. After Panna’s death in 2005, Kakon migrated to Saudi Arabia in 2007. Upon returning a few years later, he leveraged political connections within the Awami League to seize control of the sand quarries.

Kakon has denied all allegations of extortion and murder, calling the criminal charges a coordinated conspiracy. He claims that his maternal family owns 1,800 bighas of legitimate land along the riverbeds and argues that his associates have been persecuted since the political transition on 5 August. Khandakar Md. Shamim Hossain, the Additional DIG of the Rajshahi Range Police, stated that controlling the vast, uninhabited chars remains difficult as criminals easily evade detection. To completely eradicate these elements, the Rajshahi Range Police have held coordination meetings with the Khulna Range administration to establish enhanced intelligence surveillance.