Five police personnel, including a driver, have been temporarily suspended following the escape of a notorious criminal facing 25 charges from a transit van in Gazipur. The fugitive, identified as Raja—famously known by his alias “Picchi Raja”—managed to slip away from police custody while being escorted back to Kashimpur Central Jail after a court appearance in Dhaka.
The Acting Commissioner of Gazipur Metropolitan Police (GMP), Mohammad Taherul Huq Chauhan, confirmed the administrative sanctions on Monday morning. He stated that the officers were suspended for gross negligence of duty. In response to the breach, GMP authorities have constituted a five-member investigation committee led by the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Headquarters). The panel will probe whether the escorting team adhered to standard operating protocols, examining the exact security lapses that allowed the prisoner to walk free. Departmental disciplinary action will follow the panel’s findings.
Prison and police records show that the incident occurred on Sunday afternoon. Picchi Raja was transported from Gazipur to the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court in Dhaka earlier that morning for a scheduled hearing. Following the judicial proceedings, he was being returned to Kashimpur Central Jail-1 in a prison van.
Upon reaching the Naojor area of Gazipur, the accused requested a brief stop, claiming he needed to use a lavatory. The escorting personnel halted the vehicle and accompanied him to a nearby public facility. Capitalising on the situation, the suspect eluded his guards and vanished. Md. Nazrul Islam, Senior Jail Super of Kashimpur Central Jail-1, confirmed that the inmate fled during this unscheduled stop along the route.
Picchi Raja is widely recognised by law enforcement as a prominent narcotics syndicate leader operating across Dhaka’s Mohammadpur zone. His rap sheet contains roughly 25 criminal cases involving drug trafficking and illegal firearms offences. On 19 May, officers from Mohammadpur Police Station intercepted him at Shahjalal International Airport alongside his wife and brother-in-law as they returned from Nepal. Law enforcement agencies have intensified surveillance across the district and launched coordinated raids to recapture the fugitive.
