Main Suspect Arrested After Assault on Rajbari Land Officer

The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) has apprehended the principal suspect accused of orchestrating a violent assault on a local magistrate and other government officials during a mobile court drive in Rajbari. The suspect, identified as 30-year-old Faysal Sheikh, was captured after a week-long manhunt following an incident where an armed mob assaulted state employees to forcibly rescue him from lawful custody.

Major Farhan Mahmud Moktada, the company commander of the Faridpur Camp for RAB-10, confirmed the arrest during a press conference held in Faridpur on Sunday afternoon. The breakthrough occurred on Saturday evening at approximately 7:00 pm, when a joint operational team comprising personnel from RAB-10 and RAB-6 tracked the fugitive down to the Noapara area within the Fakirhat upazila of Bagerhat district.

Mobility Drive Ends in Coordinated Escape

The violent confrontation unfolded on the afternoon of 20 June in the notorious Daulatdia Porabhita area, located under the jurisdiction of the Goalandaghat Police Station in Rajbari. A mobile court, led by the Upazila Assistant Commissioner (Land) and Executive Magistrate, Md Muntasir Hasan Khan, alongside officers from the Department of Narcotics Control (DNC), was executing an anti-drug enforcement drive. During a physical search, law enforcement officers recovered a commercial quantity of heroin from Faysal’s possession.

As the executive magistrate began documenting the seizure to pass an immediate administrative sentence, a volatile crowd gathered. A group of Faysal’s associates surrounded the mobile court unit, blockading the magistrate, narcotics officers, and support staff. The crowd then launched a sudden, coordinated physical assault on the civil servants, creating a chaotic environment that allowed the assailants to forcibly break Faysal out of handcuffs and flee the scene.

Criminal History and Legal Precedents

Following the high-profile escape, local authorities filed a formal criminal case at the Goalandaghat Police Station, citing charges of obstructing government officials from performing their duties, assault, and narcotics trafficking. Recognising the sensitivity of the assault on judiciary and law enforcement representatives, the local police requested specialised assistance from the elite anti-crime unit, RAB. The agency subsequently deployed intelligence assets and increased surveillance across multiple districts, eventually tracing the suspect to his hideout in Bagerhat.

Intelligence files indicate that Faysal Sheikh is a habitual offender with a significant criminal record, possessing multiple active indictments for narcotics smuggling and distribution at the Goalandaghat Police Station. Following his capture and initial interrogation by RAB officials, Faysal was transferred back to the custody of the Goalandaghat police to face formal arraignment and subsequent judicial proceedings. Investigations remain ongoing as law enforcement personnel continue their efforts to identify and arrest the remaining accomplices involved in the assault on the administrative team.