Akhtar Sarkar, son of A. Majid Sarkar from Sarkar Bari in Guagachhia, Gajaria Upazila, faces 27 cases in various police stations, including Gajaria, Daudkandi, and Chandpur, for crimes such as murder, robbery, drug trafficking, and kidnapping.
According to local and police sources, members of the Nayan, Piyas, and Akhtar gangs have long been involved in illegal sand mining and extortion from vessels in the Meghna River and its tributaries in Guagachhia Union, Gajaria. Over the past year, several locals were killed in shootouts on the river, and fear of these gangs forced over a hundred families to flee the area.
Gajaria Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Anwar Alam Azad stated that Akhtar Sarkar was handed over to the police station on Sunday night. He will be presented in court on Tuesday (September 9) with a request for a 10-day remand.
Lieutenant Colonel HM Sajjad Hossain, commanding officer of RAB-11, said that on August 25 at around 5:00 PM, approximately 40-50 members of the Nayan-Piyas and Akhtar gangs attacked a temporary police camp in Guagachhia, Gajaria, arriving on 4-5 trawlers. They hurled cocktails and fired from all directions at the police. In self-defense, the police returned fire, forcing the attackers to flee.
He added, “Akhtar Sarkar is a key member of the Nayan-Piyas gang and a top river pirate in the Meghna. Based on his information, we recovered a specialized engine-powered boat, five brass boat propellers, two magnets, a pair of binoculars, a knife, and other equipment used in the robbery.”
