The Ministry of Home Affairs has failed to publish a circular since 2001 announcement of a reward of Tk 15 lakh each for the information leading to the arrest of 23 high profile gangsters of Dhaka.
Meanwhile, at least six top listed gangsters have been released since the fall of Sheikh Hasina government in a student-mass uprising on August 5. Most of them had been incarcerated for one or two decades.
Two months into assuming power in 2001, the BNP lead government state minister for home affairs Lutfozzaman Babar set the bounty on the capture of those and announced a reward of Tk 15 lakh for the information leading to the arrest of each of the 23 high profile gangsters of Dhaka on December 27.
Home Ministry failed to publish any circular for Imamul Hossain Helal alias Pichchi Helal. Helal was the general secretary of the Bangladesh Jatiyatabadi Chattra Dal Mohammad-pur Thana unit. Helal was arrested on January 12 in 2000. Before the announcement of the reward Helal was in prison.
Those top-notch criminals are Kala Jahangir, Titon, Sohel alias Freedom Sohel, Khandaker Tanvir Islam Joy, Haris Ahmed Haris, Khorshed Alam alias Rasu, Imam Hossain alias Imam, Prokash Kumar Biswas, Jabbar Munna, Abbas alias Killer Abbas, Kamal Pasha, Arman Khan, Mollah Masud, Mashiur Rahman Kachi, Trimati Subrata Bain, Imamul Hossain Helal alias Pichchi Helal, Mohammad Hannan alias Pichchi Hannan, Mohammad Alauddin, Liakat Hossain, Kamrul Hasan alias Hannan, Shamim Ahmed alias Aga Shamim, Zafar Ahmed alias Manik and Amin Rasul alias Tokai Sagar.
The top terrorists who have been released recently include Abbas Ali alias 'Killer Abbas' of Mirpur, Sheikh Mohammad Aslam alias Sweden Aslam of Tejgaon and Sanjidul Islam alias Emon. Two more criminals of Dhaka's underworld-Naim Ahmed alias Titon and Khorshed Alam Rasu alias Freedom Rasu-were also released.
A high official of Home Ministry told The Daily Observer that though the government has announced bounties for the capture of several top-notch gangsters, law enforcers have not received the declared bounty money for the absence of a government circular to back the claim.
It was alleged that the reward money was distributed among the high officials by giving nominal reward money to the informants who have provided the authorities with the information in nabbing the criminals.
Following the capture of top terrorist Arman the government has rewarded RAB-4 battalion Tk 5 lakh. The entire money was distributed among the battalion members while the source was given a meagre amount instead of the entire bounty.
RAB-1 members on June 26 last year arrested one of the top terrorists bullet-hit Pichchi Hannan from a clinic at Savar. Pichchi Hannan was the first catch of RAB soon after its inception.
The day after Pichchi Hannan was captured the Home Ministry rewarded RAB-1 battalion Tk 50 lakh to those who had participated in the drive. RAB-1 members, however, knew nothing about the money and among whom it was distributed. The same year Pichchi Hannan was killed in RAB crossfire.
Law enforcers and court sources said a majority of the listed or government-announced top criminals are living abroad while some died. The remaining top criminals, who were incarcerated until recently, were acquitted in most of the cases sans one or two or were on bail. They are now coming out taking advantage of the changed political situation.
Wishing not to be named, a senior officer of a law enforcement agency, who keeps track of criminal activities in Dhaka, told the Daily Observer, some of the top terrorists who were involved with criminal activities are already out on bail or are trying to leave the country.
