S A Shofiee, Sylhet :
Even though a year has passed since the July uprising, Sylhet gunmen are still out of reach. Not even a single firearm has been recovered.
In addition, 101 different types of weapons were lost in 6 police stations in the city on August 5. Of these, the police recovered most of the weapons, but 18 firearms are still missing.
It has been learned that in the last July revolution, Jubo League-Chhatra League and Swechchhasebak League terrorists practiced using firearms, including sophisticated weapons, alongside the police, to suppress the anti-discrimination student movement. They fired indiscriminately at the students and the public. These scenes have been published in almost all print and electronic media in Sylhet. All the gunmen have been identified. Even then, the law enforcement agencies have failed to arrest all the identified gunmen.
It is learned that Ansar Ahmed Ruhel alias Shooter Ansar and his associate Aminul Islam Naeem, who opened fire on the student crowd in November last year, were arrested by RAB-9. He is currently in jail. Although Shooter Ansar, who was the terror of Tilagarh and Major Tila in the city, was arrested, the law enforcement agencies could not recover the weapons in his hands.
Investigations have revealed that in the anti-discrimination student movement held in Sylhet in July last year, sharp weapons were used on Shabi students as well as firearms because the movement started centered around Shahjalal University. Later, when the Chhatra League workers left the campus in the face of the movement, two pistols were found by ordinary students from room number 423 of Chhatra League organizing secretary Amit Shah in C Block of Shahparan Hall of the university. Then, when the student movement started in the Shabi Phatak and Medina Market areas from August 2, the Juba League and Chhatra League cadres of Sylhet started openly displaying weapons. On August 3, Shahjalal University student Rudra Sen drowned in the water. On that day, leaving the police behind, Jubo League and Chhatra League activists on the front line fired continuously at the Surma residential area with illegal weapons. The sound of gunfire shook the Surma residential area that day. Earlier, on August 2 and later on August 4, there were several incidents of gunfire in these areas.
The protesting students alleged that the indiscriminate firing took place from Medina Market to the university area under the leadership of Nagar Swechchhasebak League president and former councilor Aftab Hossain Khan, his armed cadres Azhar Uddin Sumon, Pangas and Tuhin. On that day, a group of armed cadres led by Abdul Hannan alias Murgi Hannan, a resident of Subidbazar area and Awami League leader, entered the field and fired for hours. When the police got tired of suppressing the student protest, these gunmen entered the field as proxies of the police to control the situation. Countless students were shot in that area.
Eyewitnesses said that the most horrific situation occurred on August 4. That day, indiscriminate shooting with firearms took place in the Court Point, Zindabazar, Bandarbazar, and Chowhatta areas of Sylhet. Even on that day, illegal weapons were practiced in broad daylight in front of the then Deputy Police Commissioner Azbahar Ali Sheikh and the then Assistant Commissioner Sadeq Kausar Dastagir. After announcing the action on August 3, the leaders and activists of the anti-discrimination student movement took up positions at Court Point in the city after 11 am the next day, August 4. At that time, activists of the opposition group, including the Sylhet BNP, also gathered there. When the police went into action in the area around noon and removed them, the Awami League took over the highway. Since then, armed cadres of various groups of the Sylhet Awami League started practicing with weapons. During this time, they clashed with the students and the public in turn. During this time, hundreds of rounds of shooting occurred in those areas. And at that time, the matter of Ruhul Amin Shiplu’s deadly weapon was revealed. Besides, at that time, Aftab, Jahangir, Debangshu Das Mithu, Abdul Alim Tushar and Abdul Hannan had taken positions in various places of the city including Court Point, Zindabazar, Bandarbazar, Chowhatta.
Apart from this, the senior vice-president of the district volunteer league, Piyush Kanti Dey, was armed with his team. One of his associates who was with Piyush had his much-discussed double-barreled gun in his hand. Apart from this, Jubo League leaders Zahed, Munim Akhili, Sajal Das Anik, Shanto, Tilagarh’s notorious gunman Ansar alias Shooter Ansar, MC College’s Delwar Hossain Rahi, Government College’s Ruhel Ahmed, Rajan Ahmed, Chhatra League’s Tanvir, Saikat Chandra Rimi, Gaurang Das were armed. Locals said that they opened fire that day.
It has been learned that during the previous student movement on August 3 and 4, Jubo League leaders Abul Hossain, Ruhul Amin Shiplu, Reza and Tofail attacked the students with firearms on the streets of Sylhet. In addition, Jubo League cadres Tufail, Sabbir Ahmed, Shah Rukhnozzaman Rukh, MC College Chhatra League leader Tajim, Ali Hossain, Alamgir, Newton Chowdhury, Hossain Ahmed, Delwar Hossain, Talent Kanti Das, Apu Talukder and Roni Talukder were accused of using firearms at Court Point-Zindabazar on that day. Although it has been 6 months since the Awami League government was ousted and Sheikh Hasina fled in the student uprising, no gunmen have been arrested so far except for the shooter Ansar. It is also known from multiple sources that many have already fled the country.
Additional Deputy Commissioner of SMP Mohammad Saiful Islam said –
The police are always active in recovering weapons and catching the gunmen. However, we have not been successful in this regard. Although the gunmen have been identified, most of them have left the country. And intelligence activities are continuing to identify the location of those who are in the country.
