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20 members of Sundarbans bahini surrender
[Dhaka Tribune] Twenty members of Jahangir Bahini, an infamous robber gang of Sundarbans, surrendered to Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) in presence of Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan at RAB headquarters in the district town yesterday.The surrendered gang members were Jahangir Shikari, the gang leader, his associates Sheikh Md Farid, Maruf Sheikh, Akram Sheikh, Mustahar Sheikh, Kamrul Sheikh, Harun Sheikh, Haidar Sheikh, Aiub Ali Sheikh, Aiub Ali Gazi, Mofikul Gazi, Kabir Gazi, Ershad Khan, Palash Hossain, Baser Shikdar, Hannan Sardar, Ijaj Molla, Mohsin Morol and Eakub Sardar. They were inhabitants of different areas of Bagerhat and Jessore districts, told Major Adnan, deputy commander and media front man of RAB-8. The gang members laid down 31 firearms and 1,507 bullets, said Lieutenant Colonel Faridul Alam, commanding officer of RAB-8. Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan was the chief guest in the programme presided over by Lieutenant Colonel Anowar Uz Zaman, commanding officer of RAB-8.  Among others Benazir Ahmed, Director General of RAB, Maruf Hasan DIG of Barisal Range, S M Ruhul Amin, police commissioner of Barisal Metropolitan Police, Dr Gazi Md Saifuzzaman, DC of Barisal also present in the programme."Jahangir Bahani was the notorious gang in Sundarbans area," said Anowar uz Zaman. The robbers used to attack trawlers of fishermen and kidnap fishermen for ransom in deep forests of the Sundarbans adjacent to Shibsha River, Kateshwar and Sapkhali area under Satkhira range. In the programme, the Home Minister assured the surrendered gang members that government will provide them all types of assistance to come back in normal life. Over the nine months, a total of 92 members of nine robber gangs of the Sundarbans surrendered to law enforcers along with huge arms and ammunition. According to previous reports, with assurance that the government would provide all legal assistance to forest robbers if they wanted to return to normal life, several gangs of the bandidos in Sundarbans were going to surrender to the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB). The robber gangs ’Majnu Bahini’ and ’Iliaz Bahini’ were scheduled to surrender their firearms and vessels around 3pm at Mongla port, said Commanding Officer of RAB 8 Lieutenant Colonel Mohammad Faridul Alam. With the incidents of surrender of infamous robbers’ gang local fishermen happy as they are the target of the bandit. They said they would be able to catch fish without fear if other bandidos also decided to surrender to law enforcers. Forest department sources said ’Majnu Bahini’ had long been involved in extorting ransom after taking fishermen hostage in Satkhira range area of the Sundarbans while ’Iliaz Bahini’ used to attack trawlers in the Sundarbans West Zone and the Bay of Bengal. On May 31, another gang ’Master Bahini’ based in the Sundarbans, led by its gang leader, Mostafa Sheikh alias Kader Master, along with seven other robbers surrendered to the RAB. According to sources, there are at least 18 robber gangs operating in the Sundarbans, the biggest mangrove forest of the world, including "Majnu Bahini", "Sagar Bahini", "Raju Bahini" and "Jahangir Bahini". All the gangs possess modern arms and ammunition, and they collect money from fishermen, honey collectors, and wood cutters. Each of these gangs has its own area of operations and nobody can enter the Sundarbans without a "token" given by them in lieu of a monthly payment. At present, the RAB and Bangladesh Coast Guard provide security in and around the Sundarbans. The surrender of the bandidos made local fishermen happy. They said they would be able to catch fish without fear if other bandidos also decided to surrender like the ten. Posted by: Fred 2017-01-30 |
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