One Month Into Titon Murder: No Progress in Investigation, Police in the Dark

Khandakar Naim Ahmed Titon was shot dead in broad daylight in the capital’s New Market area. While the police claim the deceased was a top-tier criminal, nearly a month has passed since the incident without investigators being able to crack the case. Who was involved in the murder, at whose behest the killing mission was executed, or who the mastermind was—the answers to these questions remain unknown.

Investigation officers state that the murder was preceded by a long period of planning and surveillance. Although the killers' escape route was identified after the incident, their final hiding spot remains untraced.

The incident occurred on April 28 at around 7:45 PM when Titon was targeted and shot. The following day, his elder brother, Khandakar Said Ripon, filed a murder case at the New Market Police Station. The lawsuit named another notorious criminal, Imamul Hasan alias Picchi Helal, as the primary accused alongside several other suspects.

At the time, the victim's brother told reporters that Titon had a dispute over Bosila cattle market with Picchi Helal, Badal, Roni, and Shahjahan. However, law enforcement agencies have failed to identify or arrest anyone up to the time of writing this report.

A source involved in the case investigation disclosed that after executing the killing mission, the murderers rode a motorcycle through Jigatola, passed by the Irani Graveyard Field, and got onto the Rayerbazar embankment. They then fled swiftly through Atibazar. No further information regarding their movements after that point could be recovered.

Nevertheless, by analyzing CCTV footage from 23 buildings around the crime scene, investigators confirmed the killers' movements before the murder, the presence of a backup team, and their escape route. Preliminary findings by the Detective Branch (DB) of police suggest that the location was chosen deliberately because New Market remains closed on Tuesdays and the area in front of Dhaka University's Shahnewaj Hall lacks adequate CCTV coverage.

Investigators point out that Titon was not carrying a mobile phone on the day of the incident. Consequently, it remains unverified where he was heading or who had called him there. It is suspected that someone close to Titon was used to lure him to the New Market area so that he would take the predetermined route on his way back home.

CCTV footage revealed that two suspected killers on a motorcycle had been positioning themselves around the spot since 6:00 PM on the day of the murder. At 7:50 PM, they were spotted at the Nilkhet intersection. Titon was also present at Nilkhet at that exact time. As he began walking toward the spot, the killers followed him on their motorcycle. At 7:54 PM, they launched the attack, firing six consecutive shots at Titon. The entire operation was executed in just four minutes.
Sources state that in addition to the two killers on the motorcycle, there were two other backup members. These two individuals, aged between 35 and 40, are suspected to have been tracking Titon's movements for a long time and relaying information to the shooters. Once Titon approached the surveilled spot, the shooter and his accomplice set off on the motorcycle from Nilkhet.

An anonymous DB official shared that the motorcycle driver wore a white helmet and a black shirt. The shooter wore a white shirt, a cap on his head, and a mask over his face. Efforts are underway to identify and arrest them by analyzing their movements.

When asked about the progress of the investigation, Shafiqul Islam, Additional Commissioner of DMP and Chief of DB, told Agamir Somoy that the investigation is focusing on territorial dominance, control over extortion on Rayerbazar sidewalks, influence over Eid-centric extortion, and disputes regarding cattle market leases. Initially, it appears that multiple individuals could be involved in the murder. Once the shooters are arrested, detailed information about the incident can be uncovered.

Titon was ranked second on the list of 23 top terrorists announced by the coalition government in 2001. After serving a long prison sentence, he was released on bail on August 13, 2024, and stayed in Dhaka. A source related to the investigation claims that the fugitive top criminal Joseph and his followers might be involved in this murder. As reasoning, they noted that in the 1990s, accusations were made against Titon and criminal Captain Emon regarding the murder of Joseph's brother, Tipu. Titon might have been killed as a continuation of that dispute and revenge, though the victim's family remains tight-lipped about the matter.

Sources say that Emon and Titon once held dominance over the Rayerbazar and Jigatola areas, and they also had conflicts with Joseph. Titon was imprisoned for 17 long years over the businessman Babar Elahi murder case. Meanwhile, criminal Captain Emon left for Dubai after being released from prison during the interim government's tenure, whereas Titon chose to stay back in the country.