Two suspects sustained gunshot wounds and four were apprehended after a violent standoff with law enforcement officers in the capital’s Adabor area in the early hours of Tuesday. The incident brings the total number of arrests connected to a high-profile property extortion and land-grabbing case to ten.
The confrontation unfolded at approximately 2:30 am in an open area behind a playground, situated alongside the canal near the Nabodoy Housing local market. Acting on a covert tip-off, a police team from Adabor Police Station launched an operation around 2:00 am to trace several individuals wanted in connection with an armed raid on a residential property.
Upon arriving at the scene, officers encountered a group of seven to eight suspects. As the force moved in to make arrests, the men allegedly charged at the team with sharp weapons, including meat cleavers (chapatis), samurais, and local curved knives (kirich). Confronted by the sudden assault, a constable fired two rounds from a service shotgun in self-defence, neutralizing the immediate threat.
The two men who sustained gunshot injuries to their legs were identified as 30-year-old Rajib Howlader and 24-year-old Sagar. Police immediately detained them alongside two accomplices—Shakib, 23, and Rashed, 24—while the remaining members of the gang managed to flee under the cover of darkness. Officers recovered an assortment of sharp weapons from the site.
The wounded suspects were dispatched under armed guard to Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital for treatment. Officer-in-Charge of Adabor Police Station, Jahidul Islam, confirmed that officers fired strictly in self-defence after coming under direct physical threat. He added that additional legal charges would be filed over the attack on law enforcement.
According to police records, all four individuals arrested during the overnight raid possess extensive criminal backgrounds. Sagar is named in eight separate cases across Adabor and Mohammadpur police stations, whereas Rajib is a primary accused listed in the charge sheet of the high-profile Babu murder case in Mohammadpur. Both Shakib and Rashed face charges in five cases each, highlighting their persistent involvement in organized crime across the capital’s western zone.
The operation stems from a violent incident on Sunday, when a gang of 15 to 20 armed individuals brandishing firearms, chapatis, and large machetes (ramdas) raided a residence in Adabor’s Shyamoli Housing. The attackers vandalized the premises and demanded extortion money, escalating a long-standing ownership dispute between two rival factions that is currently pending before the courts. Six individuals had been arrested prior to Monday night’s raid, taking the total count of suspects in custody to ten as investigations continue.
