Hill villagers in the border areas of Sherpur have been held hostage by the drug lord' Rasel Bahini '.
According to sources, members of the Rasel Bahini are smuggling drugs daily from India through illegal routes in areas including Haldigram, Sandhyakura, Gomra, Rangtia in Nalakura Union of the upazila, and Nowkuchi, Gandigao, Halchati, Gozni, and Tawakocha in Kansha Union.
Investigations have revealed that the gang includes more than fifty drug traffickers and a group of teen gang members. The head of the gang, Rasel Miah, is the son of influential local Abdus Samad of Sandhyakura village. The second in command is Mamun, and a cousin of the influential local UP member Golam Kibria. Rasel is his nephew. Korban Ali and Bhoma Miah from Gomra Cluster Village are also members of this gang. Under their leadership, a large teen gang drug trafficking syndicate has formed in the Garo hills.
Locals say the members of this gang have long been importing alcohol, marijuana, heroin, yaba, phensedyl, blankets, cattle, and various Indian cosmetic items from India through border routes. Allegations state that Rasel Bahini traffics goods worth lakhs of taka almost every night from India and distributes them to the upazila center and other parts of the country. As a result, drugs are now easily available across the upazila. The youth and teenage population are falling into ruin.
In the border hill villages, almost every household now contains a drug dealer or a member of Rasel Bahini. Locals claim Rasel and Mamun possess homemade firearms. Although BGB, police, and intelligence agencies sometimes seize drug consignments, the traffickers often escape arrest. When BGB patrols, the information allegedly reaches the traffickers through local villagers. Currently, Rasel Bahini is smuggling drugs worth lakhs of taka almost every night through pickup vans via the Gomra and Sandhyakura border routes.
Locals report that in February, members of Rasel Bahini transported a large drug consignment in a pickup van from the Gomra area to Fulbari in Mymensingh. While returning home, they were chased by intelligence forces and went into hiding in the Nokla area of Sherpur. At one point, locals in Nokla, suspecting them to be cattle thieves, beat them. Two members of the Rasel Bahini from Gomra Cluster Village — Moslem Uddin and Amir Hossain — died in the incident. Three other members — Saddam, Raju, and Ainal — were injured.
It is alleged that Rasel Bahini is not only involved in drug trafficking but also in other criminal activities including rape in the Sandhyakura rubber garden area. They have been reportedly abducting young women from various areas and committing rape repeatedly. No one dares to protest or speak out against their crimes. Those who do face attacks, intimidation, and death threats.
Though there are nearly a dozen cases against Rasel Miah and Mamun, they continue their criminal activities including drug trafficking with impunity. On June 26, members of the Rasel Bahini abducted a young woman from an indigenous community in broad daylight and raped her in the rubber garden. Sujon Miah, a worker of the rubber garden, recorded the incident on video. Later, the gang contacted each other and surrounded all the workers of the rubber garden, assaulted Sujon Miah, and forced him to delete the recorded video.
Sujon’s mother, Sakhina Begum, filed a case against Rasel and several others, including 10–15 unidentified persons. Since then, the Rasel Bahini has been threatening her in various ways to withdraw the complaint. Out of fear, Sujon has left his job at the rubber garden, and his family is now in extreme insecurity.
Despite numerous allegations, Rasel Bahini continues their crimes and drug trafficking through border routes while evading police. On June 30, BGB members of Haldigram conducted an operation and recovered 276 bottles of Indian alcohol. On the same day, police seized a large quantity of drugs from Gomra village.
Now, every night drugs are being smuggled through Gomra and Sandhyakura border routes, which have become transit roads for drug trafficking.
OC of Jhenaigati Police Station, Al Amin, said, "There are arrest warrants and several drug-related cases against drug lords Rasel and Mamun. We are trying to arrest Rasel, but delays are occurring due to his constant change of location."
