Most-wanted criminal ‘Chhoto Sazzad’ obtains bail
Staff Reporter :
Sazzad Hossain, widely known as Chhoto Sazzad and listed as Chattogram Metropolitan Police’s top criminal, along with his wife Sharmin Akhter Tamanna, has obtained bail from the High Court in four separate murder cases within just one week. Multiple steps were reportedly taken at different stages to keep the bail proceedings away from public attention.
Sazzad is accused in 19 cases, including 10 murder cases, while Tamanna faces eight cases, several of which also involve murder charges.
Court documents show that on 15 September, the High Court granted bail to Sazzad and Tamanna in the murder case of salesman Shahidul Islam, which was filed with Chandgaon Police Station on 19 August 2024. On the same day, the same High Court bench also granted bail to the couple and another accused in the murder case of Wasim Akram, filed with Panchlaish Police Station on 18 August 2024.
Within a week, on 22 September, the same bench granted bail in two additional murder cases—the killing of salesman Md Faruk, filed on 28 August 2024, and the murder of Aftab Uddin Tahsin—both under Panchlaish Police Station.
In all four cases, the division bench of Justice Mustafa Zaman Islam and Justice Yousuf Abdullah Suman granted bail until disposal of the court rules.
Although bail was granted on 15 and 22 September, the bail orders were signed by High Court Assistant Registrar Md Yousuf Ali on 18 September and 5 October respectively. However, the orders reached the Chattogram court nearly two and a half months later, on 8 December.
Typically, once the High Court grants bail, the order reaches the prison within a week and the accused is released. In these cases, however, bail bonds were not submitted immediately, causing delays in the process.
Confirming the development, Sazzad’s lawyer Abu Bakkar Siddique said that both Sazzad and Tamanna, who remain in custody, have secured bail in four cases and that the bail orders have been sent to the respective prisons. He, however, said he could not explain why the documents took so long to reach Chattogram from the High Court.
Chattogram Central Jail Superintendent Shah Syed Sharif said bail orders had been received in three cases involving Sazzad Hossain alias Chhoto Sazzad. He added that bail orders had also arrived in four cases concerning his wife Tamanna and that the necessary documents had been forwarded to the relevant prisons.
Currently, Sazzad is being held at Rajshahi Jail, while Tamanna is in Feni District Jail.
Sources said the delay in processing the bail orders followed increased scrutiny after the killing of Sazzad’s rival, Sarwar Babla, who was shot dead at a market on 5 November while campaigning for the election. Following the incident, allegations surfaced that Sazzad continued to operate his criminal network from prison using a mobile phone.
After the murder, Sazzad was transferred from Chattogram Central Jail to Rajshahi Jail on 14 November, while Tamanna was shifted to Feni District Jail on 18 November. Sazzad had earlier been arrested from Bashundhara City in Dhaka.
Tamanna had previously allegedly threatened that Babla would be “taken care of” after Sazzad was handed over to police. A few days later, Babla was shot dead in public.