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Published : 27 May 2025, 10:20 PM
Bangladesh Army has arrested two of the country’s top-listed criminals Subrata Bain and Abu Rasel Masud alias Molla Masud along with two of their close aides, in coordinated raids in Kushtia and Dhaka.
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) confirmed the arrests at a press briefing held Tuesday afternoon at the Officers’ Mess inside Dhaka Cantonment.
News of Subrata and Masud’s arrest had already circulated earlier in the day, with reports claiming the pair had been picked up from a multi-storey building in Kushtia during a pre-dawn operation.
At the time, the identity of the second arrestee was still unclear.
Speaking to bdnews24.com, Kushtia Model Police Station chief Mosharraf Hossain said: “We have heard that a top criminal was arrested from there. But no one has officially informed us about this.”
Later in the day, ISPR Director Lt Col Sami Ud Doula Chowdhury told the press that a unit of the 46 Independent Infantry Brigade had successfully arrested two listed top-tier criminals and their associates.
The four men arrested are Subrata, Masud, shooter Arafat, and Sharif.
According to the military’s media wing, the initial operation took place around 5am in Kushtia, where Subrata and Masud were captured.
Acting on intelligence from that arrest, the army conducted a follow-up operation in Dhaka’s Hatirjheel and arrested Shooter Arafat and Sharif, identified as close operatives of Subrata.
All four are facing multiple charges, including murder, extortion and sabotage in several police stations, the military’s media wing said.
Subrata and Masud were described as ringleaders of the infamous “Seven Star” gang and among the 23 most wanted criminals listed by the home ministry.
The raids also led to the recovery of five foreign-made pistols, 10 magazines, 53 rounds of ammunition and a satellite phone, the Army said.
According to police records, Subrata faces numerous charges, 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 information on 23 of the country’s most notorious criminals.
Subrata, then seen as a key player in Dhaka’s crime world, was one of the most prominent names on that list.
In the early 2000s, as law-enforcing agencies intensified its crackdown, Subrata fled to India.
He was arrested on Oct 13, 2008 by Kolkata Police’s Special Task Force in the Karaya area, allegedly with weapons in his possession.
Subrata was later charged with arms possession and illegal entry into India.
He was released on bail on Jan 6, 2009 and disappeared again.
On Sept 22, 2009, while being chased by Indian authorities, Subrata reportedly crossed into Nepal at Kakadvitta, where he was later arrested by Nepalese police.
Nearly three years later, on Nov 8, 2012, he escaped from a Nepalese prison by digging a tunnel, before re-entering India.
On Nov 27 the same year, he was arrested once again in Kolkata’s Bowbazar area, where he had been living under the alias Fateh Ali.
