Army arrests ‘top criminal’ Subrata Bain in Kushtia

The Bangladesh Army has arrested “top gangster” Subrata Bain in an operation at a three-storey building in Kushtia.

The Inter-Services Public Relations Directorate (ISPR) called a press conference in Dhaka at 5pm on Tuesday to provide details on the matter.

Earlier in the morning, the army personnel conducted a drive into the building in the city’s Kalishankarpur and arrested Subrata and another individual.

Although media reports claim that the person arrested with him is another “top criminal” Molla Masud, no official confirmation of this has been made.

Kushtia Model Police Station chief Mosharraf Hossain told bdnews24.com, “We have heard that a top criminal was arrested from there. But no one has officially informed us about this.”

According to lodgers of the building, the top floors are rented out to college and university students. The arrestees were nabbed from the ground floor.

One of the students said that the ground floor was rented out about one and a half months ago, through a woman from a nearby house. Two to three people lived there, and the students only knew that they used to travel to villages selling clothes.

Speaking about the operation, one of the lodgers said: “Around 5:30am, the army conducted the operation. At that time, the students took refuge in a room. The army told us about the operation and provided security.”

Later, the students saw the two arrested individuals being taken away in a vehicle.

According to police records, there are numerous allegations against Subrata, including murder and extortion.

His criminal life began with the murder of JaSoD-Chhatra League leader Murad in Dhaka’s Agargaon in 1991.

In 2001, the Ministry of Home Affairs announced rewards for the capture of 23 top terror suspects. Subrata — the infamous “Seven Star” gang leader in Dhaka’s underworld — was among them.