At least 10 leaders and activists of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its affiliated organisations have been killed in Khulna since November 2024, amid growing concerns over factional rivalries, muscle-based politics and competition for local influence.
The killings, alongside a series of shootings and violent clashes, have exposed deepening tensions within BNP-affiliated organisations and raised questions about political accountability and the effectiveness of law enforcement.
Several murder investigations remain incomplete, while three Jubo Dal leaders were shot between October 24 and 27 despite intensified police operations.
Factional Rivalries Turn Violent
Internal disputes involving Jubo Dal and Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, the BNP’s youth and student organisations, have repeatedly resulted in confrontations in Khulna.
On October 20, rival groups clashed at Katenga Bazar in Terokhada upazila. The confrontation involved chases and stone-throwing, leaving five to seven people injured.
Local accounts indicate that clashes linked to internal disputes involving the two organisations have injured approximately 20 to 25 people in Terokhada and other parts of Khulna this year.
Such confrontations illustrate how rival groups operating within the same political camp can become embroiled in violent struggles for influence.
The competition is not necessarily ideological. Disputes over local leadership, control of political activities and access to influence can create incentives for factional confrontation.
The distinction matters because the continuing violence involves both identifiable factional disputes and attacks whose perpetrators and motives remain unknown.
Three Shootings in Four Days
The latest series of attacks began on October 24, when Ramin Biswas, 32, president of the Jubo Dal’s Ward 3 unit in Madhupur Union, was shot in Terokhada.
He was travelling on a van in Parhajigram when motorcycle-borne assailants approached from behind, opened fire and escaped.
Ramin sustained a gunshot wound to his back and was admitted to Khulna Medical College Hospital.
Two days later, on the night of October 26, Jubo Dal leader Sohel Sheikh, 36, was shot in Batiaghata.
Sohel, a former president of the Amirpur Union Chhatra Dal, was reportedly sitting on a motorcycle near Bara Karia Government Primary School when attackers arrived on two motorcycles and opened fire.
He suffered injuries to his right arm and abdomen. After initial treatment in Khulna, he was transferred to Dhaka for advanced care.
On October 27, former Jubo Dal leader Wahidul Islam Badal, 38, was shot while returning home after attending a programme marking the organisation’s founding anniversary.
The attack took place near Chakrakhali intersection in Batiaghata. Gunmen fired three rounds at him before fleeing.
Badal, a former local Jubo Dal leader and a member of the union BNP, was taken to hospital.
The three shootings demonstrate the continuing threat of armed violence against politically affiliated individuals.
Their proximity in time and location has heightened concerns about factional hostilities, but police have not established that the attacks were coordinated or motivated by the same dispute.
Political Muscle and a Trail of Killings
The shootings follow a series of killings that have affected BNP and its affiliated organisations since late 2024.
On November 29, 2024, Amin Molla Boeing, a former joint convener of the BNP’s Ward 30 unit, was hacked and seriously injured. He died on December 4 while undergoing treatment.
On January 20, 2025, Manik Hawlader, a former vice-president of the Jubo Dal’s Ward 21 unit, was killed in an attack involving sharp weapons.
Another former Jubo Dal vice-president, Mahbubur Rahman Molla of Daulatpur, was shot and attacked outside his home on July 11, 2025. His attackers also severed tendons in his legs.
The violence continued into 2026.
BNP activist Babul Molla was beaten to death on Railway Hospital Road on February 7.
On February 27, Murad Khan, senior joint convener of the Jubo Dal’s Senhati Union unit in Dighalia, was hacked to death.
On March 4, Masum Billah, convener of the Sramik Dal’s Rupsha upazila unit, was shot and hacked to death at Dakbangla intersection in Khulna city.
Former Chhatra Dal organising secretary Rashikul Anam Rashu was shot dead at KDA Kalpataru Market in Daulatpur on March 16.
On June 12, Rafiqul Islam Gazi, known as Dhakaiya Rafiq, was shot dead in the Mathabhanga area under Labanchora Police Station. He was a member of the BNP’s Batiaghata upazila convening committee.
In Rupsha, Joy Dhali was killed on August 25. His father, Akhtar Dhali, was killed on October 5, just 41 days later. Both were associated with BNP politics.
The repeated use of firearms and sharp weapons, including attacks in public places, has reinforced concerns about the presence of armed groups in local political conflicts.
Competition for Influence and the Politics of Intimidation
The broader pattern raises concerns about a political culture in which the ability to mobilise supporters, intimidate rivals and exert control over local areas can become a source of power.
Factional competition can become particularly dangerous when political influence overlaps with criminal networks or when individuals believe that organisational connections will protect them from prosecution.
The clashes involving Jubo Dal and Chhatra Dal in Terokhada provide a documented example of internal political tensions turning violent.
What is evident is that repeated attacks have continued within a political environment already marked by factional confrontation, and neither party intervention nor police enforcement has yet brought the violence under control.
Murder Investigations Leave Families Frustrated
The failure to resolve several high-profile killings has added another dimension to the crisis.
The March 16 killing of Rashikul Anam Rashu remains unresolved, with no substantial progress reported in identifying and arresting the principal suspects.
His father, Shariful Anam, a former president of the BNP’s Ward 4 unit, expressed his frustration over the investigation.
“Perhaps our only crime was being involved in BNP politics,” he said.
The family has demanded that investigators identify the killers and bring them to justice.
In the March 4 killing of Sramik Dal leader Masum Billah, police detained Ashok Ghosh and recovered a firearm shortly after the attack.
However, other suspects named in the case have not been arrested, according to the available information.
Masum’s wife, Fatematuz Zohara, recalled the trauma of witnessing the attack’s consequences for their family.
“How could they shoot him in front of the children? This pain will never go away unless those responsible receive the death penalty,” she said.
The investigation into the July 2025 killing of Jubo Dal leader Mahbubur Rahman Molla has resulted in 10 arrests.
Investigating officer Sub-Inspector Zahidul Islam said police were still seeking additional evidence.
The arrests represent progress in that case, but the investigation has not yet established the guilt of those detained.
Together, the cases illustrate the gap between initial police action and the completion of investigations capable of supporting successful prosecutions.
BNP Leaders Warn That Impunity Encourages Violence
Khulna Metropolitan BNP General Secretary Shafiqul Alam Tuhin, also a director of the Bangladesh Cricket Board, linked the continuing killings to the absence of effective accountability.
“Killings are taking place one after another. When justice is not delivered, it creates the conditions for another murder,” he said.
Khulna District BNP Convener Moniruzzaman Montu called for urgent administrative intervention to prevent further attacks and restore law and order.
He said the party did not want to witness more killings and urged authorities to take effective preventive measures.
Their statements reflect growing concern within BNP over the consequences of continued violence involving its members and affiliated organisations.
The incidents also raise questions for party leaders about internal discipline and the management of factional disputes.
Police Operations Fail to Prevent Fresh Attacks
Khulna police have intensified enforcement measures, including special operations, block raids and increased patrols.
District Superintendent of Police Sarkar Omar Faruk said joint security operations began on October 6, involving district police, metropolitan police and other security units.
He said authorities were working to identify and arrest those involved in killings and shootings.
Khulna Metropolitan Police Commissioner Md Sazzadur Rahman said investigations were being monitored and efforts were underway to submit charge sheets promptly.
Despite those measures, the shootings of Ramin Biswas, Sohel Sheikh and Wahidul Islam Badal occurred after the intensified operations began.
The persistence of attacks has exposed the limitations of enforcement measures that have yet to produce a sustained reduction in violence.
A Test of Political Accountability
Khulna’s continuing violence presents two interconnected challenges: the criminal investigations needed to bring perpetrators to justice and the political responsibility to prevent factional disputes from escalating into armed confrontation.
The available incidents demonstrate that internal rivalries within BNP-affiliated organisations have already produced serious violence. They also show that politically connected individuals remain vulnerable to attacks.
The involvement of armed assailants, the recurrence of public killings and the slow progress of several investigations have contributed to an atmosphere in which intimidation can persist without timely accountability.
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