It was 27 September, 2000. Rival criminals openly shot dead one of the most notorious gangsters of the time, Humayun Kabir, alias “Murghi” Milon, within the court premises to take control of the underworld and extortion rackets. For a long time afterward, the capital’s underworld remained turbulent with killings, counter-killings, and gunfights.

A similar incident occurred on 28 April this year. Rival criminals openly shot dead top criminal Khandakar Nayeem Ahmed, alias Titon, on the streets. This incident has once again brought Dhaka’s underworld and the dominance of professional criminals into the limelight. In the past 21 months, 23 such incidents have occurred in the capital, in some of which professional criminals were directly involved, and in others they operated from behind the scenes.

Among the 23 notable incidents, seven were murders. In six of these, members of rival groups were killed in gunfire from professional criminals. The remaining one involved killing by hacking. Apart from the murders, the other incidents included shootings inside business establishments, bomb explosions, hacking and injuring, shows of force, and threats.

These 23 underworld-related incidents occurred in areas including Dhanmondi, Hazaribagh, Rayerbazar, Mohammadpur, Adabor, Mirpur, Pallabi, Kafrul, Gulshan, Badda, Moghbazar, Hatirjheel, and Motijheel. These areas are now highly significant on the map of Dhaka’s underworld. In some places, former top criminals, in others their associates, and elsewhere politically affiliated local groups are involved in shifts of power within the underworld.