Desk Report,
‘Jitu Bahini’ formed with 30 cadres, after Jubo League, Swechchhasebak Dal dominates Bogra under ‘umbrella’
His name has repeatedly come up in various crimes including murder, robbery, kidnapping, extortion, weapons, and drugs. He was also in prison for 14 years in a murder case. At one stage, he was released on bail. He started to fight with Jubo League leaders. He established his dominance in the area. Even after the political change on August 5, his influence in the area did not decrease. Now, as the leader of the Volunteer Party, he roams the area with his own forces.
Jitu Islam (50), the leader of the Bogra District Volunteer Party, has come into the news again after he picked up his father and beat him to death because he refused to marry off his school-going daughter. After the police arrested him in a murder case, he was expelled from the post of Joint General Secretary of the District Volunteer Party.
‘Jitu Bahini’ formed with 30 cadres, after Jubo League, Swechchhasebak Dal dominates Bogra under ‘umbrella’
Local residents say that Jitu Islam became the ‘don’ of the crime world in the Phulbari and Shibbati areas of Bogra city by getting involved in almost all types of crimes. He used to openly extort money in the area. He has formed a ‘Jitu Bahini’ with at least 30 cadres. He used to roam the city on motorcycles with this force. According to the police, there are at least seven cases against Jitu Islam, including two murder cases, on charges of robbery, extortion, theft and drug dealing.
Jitu Islam’s home is in the Kargipara area of Phulbari. It is learned from talking to the police and locals that after August 5, he started living in a rented house in the Shibbati area of the city. He had his eyes on the school-going daughter of rickshaw puller Shakil Mia, a resident of the Shibbati Shahi Mosque area. His father pressured Shakil Mia to marry the teenager. However, he did not agree. Due to a dispute over this, Jitu and his force allegedly picked up Shakil from his house on Saturday afternoon and beat him to death.
Maleka Begum, the wife of the deceased rickshaw puller Shakil Mia, filed a murder case against 17 people, making Jitu Islam the main accused in the murder. Another 8-10 unidentified people have been named as accused in the case. Police have arrested Jitu Islam, his two associates Shafiqul Hasan (28) and Matiur Rahman. The police presented the three accused in court on Sunday and applied for a seven-day remand. The court granted a five-day remand. It was learned from talking to local residents that Jitu Islam was involved in various criminal activities from a young age. In 2003, a young man named Rabiul Islam was killed in the Phulbari area due to a dispute over the business of sand looting from the Karatoya River. Jitu Islam was arrested in that case and sentenced to 14 years in prison. Jitu was released on bail from the High Court a few years ago. After that, he started having an affair with Ward No. 3 Jubo League President Rahmatullah Monir. He was also seen with top leaders of the district Jubo League holding Rahmatullah’s hand. He controlled various crimes including extortion, robbery, drug dealing, and sand looting in Karatoya.
Soon after August 5, Jitu Islam started to flirt with BNP leaders. With the blessings of a top leader of the city BNP, he got the post of joint general secretary in the district volunteer party committee announced in February this year. Then, with the help of BNP leaders, he built a cadre force of at least 30 people overnight.
