Elite Force Arrests Two Members of Khulna’s Ashik Group

Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) personnel have apprehended two active members of the notorious ‘Ashik Group’, a criminal organisation terrorising the Khulna region. The elite force conducted a precision operation on Monday evening at the Katakhali intersection in Fakirhat Upazila, Bagerhat, successfully capturing the suspects.

The detainees have been identified as 27-year-old Emon Sharif and 25-year-old Sajol Khan. According to RAB officials, Emon is a resident of Motiyakhali under the Lobonchora Police Station, while Sajol hails from the Chanmari Bazar area. Following their arrest, the suspects were handed over to the Lobonchora Police Station for formal processing and further interrogation.

Criminal activity in Khulna city and the surrounding district has become increasingly linked to a network of nine prominent gangs. These groups, which operate with a brazen disregard for the law, include the B-Company, Palash Group, Huma Bahini, Arman Group, Shakil Group, Nasim Group, Ashik Group, Noor Azim Group, and the Tengki Shawon Group. These entities are primarily known for extorting business owners, controlling the local drug trade, and maintaining territorial dominance through violence.

Officer-in-Charge of Lobonchora Police Station, Syed Mosharraf Hossain, confirmed that both Emon and Sajol face multiple charges across various police stations within the Khulna Metropolitan Police (KMP) jurisdiction. Emon Sharif is specifically accused in a case involving an extortion attempt at a local businessman’s residence. When the victim refused to pay the demanded sum, the group allegedly set fire to the property. The gang’s ringleader, known as Ashik, is the primary suspect in that arson case. Meanwhile, Sajol Khan has been processed through the courts regarding an existing warrant filed at the Sadar Police Station.

The security situation in Khulna has raised significant alarm. Police data reveals that between January and June of this year, the city witnessed 19 separate homicides. The unrest following the recent mass uprising has further complicated the landscape; investigators have established links between various criminal gangs and at least 34 subsequent killings. Intelligence reports and local police sources suggest that the majority of these homicides are rooted in a lethal mix of territorial rivalry, the struggle for control over the illegal arms and narcotics trades, and long-standing personal vendettas between these competing criminal organisations. Law enforcement authorities have pledged to continue these targeted sweeps to dismantle these groups and restore order to the region.