BAGHA, RAJSHAHI, June 12: At least six people have been killed in shootings by armed criminals in the Padma char areas over the past eight months, while police have failed to identify or arrest any suspects in connection with the incidents.
The killings took place across char regions under Bagha in Rajshahi, Lalpur in Natore, Ishwardi in Pabna, and Daulatpur in Kushtia along the Padma river border belt.
According to police records, around 11 criminal gangs are active in the char areas. Locals say these groups have effectively taken control of the region, carrying out extortion, torture, and shootings, leaving residents in constant fear.
Locals also alleged that since the char areas lie close to the Indian border, illegal armed groups are able to bring in firearms from across the border with relative ease, enabling their criminal operations.
On October 27, 2025, two people were killed in a shooting during a clash over straw cutting at Chauddohazar field in the southern part of Hobirchar under Niche Khanpur, on the border of Bagha, Lalpur, Ishwardi and Daulatpur. The victims were Aman Mondol, son of Khanpur’s Minhaz Mondol, and Nazmul Hossain, son of Shukur Mondol of the same village.
The following day, on October 28, police recovered the body of Liton Hossain from Hobirchar.
Two months later, on January 3, Sohan Rana, son of Kalum Mondol of Palashi Fatehpur Karali area under Chak Rajapur union of Bagha upazila, was shot dead after armed men stormed his house at night.
Following the incident, law enforcement agencies conducted special drives and recovered 10 firearms, including two country-made guns, seven pistols, 24 rounds of ammunition, five motorcycles, drugs, an engine-driven boat, a speedboat, containers used for storing weapons, six large daggers, 22 machetes, four knives, two cleavers, one axe, one iron pipe, a tube-well, and a bed.
On May 18, a group of 10 to 12 armed men attacked Kalidaskhali char under Chak Rajapur Union of Bagha Upazila and shot dead Swapan Bepari, 40 in a late-night assault. His body was later taken away on a trawler, and his family has not been able to trace him even 23 days after the incident.
Most recently, on June 9, police recovered the body of a young man identified as Azizul Hakim Jhoru from a speedboat at Char Jajira near Chauddohazar field in Hobirchar South under Niche Khanpur.
Bagha Police Station Officer-in-Charge Serajul Haque said police records list 11 active criminal groups in the Padma char areas. These include Kakon Bahini, Mondol Bahini, Tuku Bahini, Saeed Bahini, Lalchand Bahini, Rakhi Bahini, Sharif Kaigi Bahini, Rajjak Bahini, Chollish Bahini, Bahannoh Bahini, and Sukhchand"Naharul Bahini.
He added that these groups have been carrying out repeated criminal activities and killings. However, during “Operation First Light,” police arrested 203 individuals and recovered weapons in several drives.
