From football pitch to underworld
The body of top criminal Khandaker Naeem Ahmed Titon, who was shot dead by assailants in the capital, reached his home in Jashore on Wednesday night.
When his body arrived at his residence at Kharki Apon Mor around 8 pm, family members broke down in tears.
After the Namaz-e-Janaza the same night, he was buried at the Karbala graveyard in the city.
The deceased Titon was a resident of the Kharki Apon Mor area of Jashore city and the son of jute mill official K M Fakruddin.
The fourth among 11 siblings, Titon had been living in Sultanganj, Hazaribagh after being released on bail.
Titon’s elder brother Saeed Ahmed Ripon said that after coming out on bail, Titon wanted to leave the criminal world and return to a normal life. He claimed that despite being a top criminal, Titon was unarmed at the time of the attack.
According to him, this allowed the assailants to carry out the killing within a minute and flee without resistance.
He also alleged that individuals close to Titon had provided the attackers with information about his unarmed status and whereabouts.
Speaking with local residents, it was learned that Khandaker Naeem Ahmed Titon was once a popular footballer.
Around 1986–87, under the supervision of Jessore’s renowned coach Imdadul Haq Sacchu, Titon was among the few footballers who represented the district.
His aggressive playing style and skill led him to play for various clubs in Chuadanga, Khulna, and Dhaka.
At the peak of his football career, he became involved in politics.
Though he did not hold any official post, Titon was a local activist of the BNP.
Around 1998, during an internal BNP feud in front of the Water Development Board in Jessore, rivals allegedly hacked him indiscriminately.
After remaining between life and death for several months, he recovered and later became involved in the criminal world.
Former Jessore player and referee Labu Joaddar said, “Titon’s father married twice.
Among the 12 children of two mothers, Titon was the son of the first mother.
In the 1990s, Naimur Hasan Titon and his elder brother Ripon were both among the best footballers in Jessore.
The unfortunate thing is that from being a renowned footballer, he entered the world of darkness.”
Locals said that since Titon had been away from Jessore for a long time, many people of the younger generation do not know him.
After the political changeover, he visited his Jessore home three to four times.
In 1999, after a double murder at Karbala in Jessore, he left Jessore and moved to Dhaka.
Later, having entered Dhaka’s criminal underworld in the early 1990s, Titon’s rise in the underworld was described as rapid and violent.
Starting from local gangs to arms dealing and multiple killings, he quickly became a known figure in the underworld.
Titon was number 2 on the government’s list of 23 top criminals with rewards on their heads.
Cases against him include the high-profile murders of businessman Babar Elahi and Tipu — brother of former army chief Aziz Ahmed — along with more than a dozen other cases.
In 2004, he was arrested from the Dhaka Cantonment area. In 2014, he was sentenced to death in the Babar Elahi murder case.
Taking advantage of the chaotic situation following August 5, 2024, several convicted criminals and top underworld figures reportedly began securing bail and walking out of prison one by one.
Among them were Mirpur’s “Killing Mission” chief Abbas Ali alias Killer Abbas, Tejgaon’s Sheikh Mohammad Aslam alias Sweden Aslam, Mohammadpur’s Imamul Hasan Helal alias Picchi Helal, Khorshed Alam alias Rasu alias Freedom Rasu, Hazaribagh’s Sanzidur Islam Imon, and Khandaker Naeem Ahmed alias Titon.
After spending 20 long years in prison, Titon was released on bail from Kashimpur High Security Prison on August 13, 2024.
On Tuesday around 7:45 pm, criminals shot Titon at close range, firing five bullets into his chest and head in front of the Shahnewaz student dormitory of Dhaka University near New Market, under a banyan tree, before fleeing on motorcycles. At the time, he was walking through the area on foot
. Passersby later rescued him and took him to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, where the duty physician declared him dead at 8:27 pm.
Regarding the incident, Ramna Division Deputy Commissioner (DC) Masud Alam said, “It has been confirmed that the deceased is top criminal Naeem Ahmed Titon.
Although there are no CCTV cameras at the scene, footage from surrounding areas is being collected.”
Police and intelligence agencies believe the killing may have resulted from long-standing internal conflicts among top criminal groups.
Apart from disputes over the schedule for the Bachila cattle market lease, Titon may also have been targeted in revenge for the killing of top criminal Joseph’s brother Tipu.
Law enforcement agencies suspect that former army chief Aziz Ahmed’s brother, top criminal Joseph Ahmed, and even Titon’s own brother-in-law, another top criminal Sanzidur Islam Imon, may be involved in the murder.
However, multiple sources in the criminal underworld claim that top criminal Tofayel Ahmed (Joseph) had been targeting Titon since his release from prison to avenge his brother’s killing. Based in Dubai, Joseph is alleged to have planned Titon’s killing.
According to these sources, about a month earlier, Joseph’s associate and key member of his killer squad, Badal alias Killer Badal, was sent from Dubai to Bangladesh.
After arriving, he reportedly monitored Titon’s movements through his network.
The targeted killing of Titon is believed to have been the result of both revenge for Joseph’s brother Tipu’s murder and disputes over the Bachila cattle market lease schedule.
After the army chief’s tenure ended and Joseph moved to Dubai, Mohammadpur resident Killer Badal also travelled there.
It was primarily to execute this murder plan that Badal was reportedly sent back to Bangladesh. Multiple sources confirmed that the killing mission was carried out under his supervision.
