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The Detective Branch (DB) of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police has arrested Bikash Chandra Sarkar, identified as one of the alleged masterminds behind the armed attack on the New Guinea Property housing project in the capital’s ECB Chattar area.
Bikash was arrested in Magura late Sunday night, a senior DB official confirmed on Monday.
According to investigators, Bikash had earlier tried to mediate a settlement between the landowners, including project chairman Nazimuddin Bhuiyan and retired Major General Golam Mohiuddin Chowdhury. When the negotiations failed, he allegedly helped the primary accused, Shahria Mahmud, arrange armed men for the attack.
Meanwhile, six suspects, including Shahria Mahmud, Muktijoddha Projonmo League leader Shah Alam Anik and Mizanur Rahman, son-in-law of Kushtia-2 Jamaat-e-Islami MP Md Abdur Gafur, have been taken to the DB office on Minto Road for interrogation after a court granted them three-day remand on Sunday.
After completing his three-day remand, retired Major General Golam Mohiuddin Chowdhury was produced before the court on Sunday and was subsequently granted bail.
AFM Anwar Hossain Khan, deputy commissioner of the DB’s Gulshan Division, said the six suspects were being questioned about their alleged involvement in the violence.
The attack took place around 11:15pm on September 26 amid a land dispute, targeting the New Guinea housing project and a nearby studio owned by content creator Salman Muqtadir.
The attackers reportedly fired around 50 blank shots while vandalising and looting the properties, triggering panic in the area. Investigators said hired criminals and local slum residents were mobilised for the attack.
Police are continuing efforts to recover the firearms allegedly used in the incident.