Wanted Chhatra Shakti Leader Files Case Against Hundreds

Marzuk Abdullah, joint general secretary of the Barishal metropolitan unit of Chhatra Shakti, the student wing of NCP, continues to move freely around Barishal city despite having an arrest warrant hanging over him in a robbery case. Police, however, claim they have been unable to execute the warrant because they cannot locate him. Yet this same Marzuk Abdullah appeared before the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court in Barishal last Thursday and filed a sabotage case against hundreds of people, including four deceased Awami League leaders and six living BNP leaders.

Local BNP leaders and activists have expressed anger over the widely discussed case, describing it as part of a ‘case racket’ operation run by a litigation syndicate. An investigation by Agamir Somoy found information pointing to a group allegedly led by Marzuk Abdullah and a man named Sultan Khan, who identifies himself as Marzuk’s uncle.

The investigation also uncovered a series of startling allegations against Marzuk Abdullah, a former coordinator of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement in Barishal metropolitan area. According to Dumki Police Station Officer-in-Charge Selim Ahmed in Patuakhali, Marzuk himself is a fugitive accused in a robbery case.

The police official said a robbery case was filed at Dumki Police Station on June 6 last year, with Sub-Inspector Nuruzzaman of the same police station serving as the complainant.

According to the case statement, a group of robbers was traveling from Barishal to Patuakhali on two motorcycles to commit a robbery. Acting on information, police chased them near the toll plaza of the Payra Bridge in Patuakhali. While several suspects managed to flee, two were arrested. Police recovered a toy pistol, an electric shock device, and a motorcycle from them. Marzuk Abdullah was allegedly part of the robbery group but escaped from the scene.

The OC said that two months later, police submitted a charge sheet identifying Marzuk Abdullah, along with arrested suspects Shipon Hawlader and Abdullah Al Mamun, as members of the robbery gang. In confessional statements recorded under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the two arrested suspects allegedly identified Marzuk Abdullah as the mastermind behind the attempted robbery. He remains a fugitive in the case and is the subject of an arrest warrant. On September 9, 2025, a copy of the warrant was sent from the Patuakhali Sadar Police Court to the office of the Barishal Metropolitan Police Commissioner.

Marzuk Abdullah’s residence falls within the jurisdiction of Kotwali Model Police Station under the Barishal Metropolitan Police. Documents related to the arrest warrant were sent to the station for execution. Asked why the warrant had not been executed, Kotwali Model Police Station Officer-in-Charge Mamun Ul Islam said, “Police are embarrassed by Marzuk’s activities. He has a warrant in a robbery case. Efforts are ongoing to arrest him and bring him under the law. However, he has gone into hiding out of fear of arrest.”

When asked how an absconding suspect could appear in court and file a case as a complainant, and whether there was any pressure not to arrest him, the OC replied, “No, there is no such pressure. We are very annoyed and embarrassed by this individual. He will not be able to remain on the run for long. He will be arrested soon. Besides, we had no information that he was moving around publicly.”

Marzuk Abdullah filed the case alleging that 248 people, including leaders of the now-banned Awami League, disrupted public order, blocked highways with firearms, and detonated cocktails and crude bombs, thereby undermining peace in the country. The list of defendants includes four deceased Awami League leaders and six BNP leaders. New information has now emerged indicating that five people were also named in the case after efforts to seize land allegedly failed. Taking cognizance of the case filed last Thursday, Judge S.M. Shariat Ullah ordered the deputy commissioner of the Barishal Metropolitan Police to investigate.

The case names Land Assistant Officer Mishel Al Sadiq of Gournadi as defendant No. 90. He told Agamir Somoy, “My maternal family home is in Koloskathi of Bakerganj. We own 66 decimals of land there. The property was registered in the name of my grandfather’s father, the late Sobahan Talukder.”

According to the land official, in 2025 a group claimed ownership of 33 decimals of the land through inheritance and filed a case in court. Subsequently, Sultan Khan, a resident of the C&B Road area of Barishal city, claimed that he held power of attorney over the 33 decimals of land. However, he was unable to produce any documents.

Mishel Al Sadiq continued, “No one lives at my maternal family home. Taking advantage of that, Sultan Khan harvested paddy from 33 decimals of the land at the end of last year. We filed a complaint with the police. A mediation meeting was held at Bakerganj Police Station in January this year. Sultan, Marzuk, Bobita, and several others attended. When they failed to gain any advantage, they threatened to implicate us in a case.”

“At around 7:45 p.m. on June 29, I received a phone call. The Truecaller app identified the caller as Marzuk Abdullah. But after I answered, the caller introduced himself as journalist Sumon Sardar. He claimed I was a close associate of former Barishal mayor Sadiq Abdullah and said my name was included in a case. He demanded money in exchange for removing my name. When I responded angrily, he threatened to implicate me in a case,” he added.

The case filed by Marzuk Abdullah also names Mishel Al Sadiq’s uncle, Mahamudul Hasan, as defendant No. 89. According to Mishel Al Sadiq, the date cited in the sabotage case as the time of the alleged incident was a day when his uncle was not even in the country.

Expressing frustration, he said, “My uncle is a garment businessman. He has been named as defendant No. 89. Our sharecropper Habib Molla has been listed as defendant No. 45, Nasir Hawlader as defendant No. 121, and his brother Russell Hawlader, who serves as our caretaker, as defendant No. 223.”

The land official alleged that Sultan Khan and Marzuk Abdullah are members of a litigation syndicate. He said several others, including a man claiming to be a journalist, are also involved. According to him, the group previously named innocent people, business owners, and affluent individuals in several cases and profited substantially from those cases. Sultan Khan filed a case against 301 people on January 28, 2025, while Marzuk filed another case against 247 people on May 14 of the same year. Later, their associate Md. Zahir filed a case against 142 people on May 19 this year over an incident that allegedly occurred nearly two years earlier.

“I lost my left leg to cancer in 2005 and now walk with a prosthetic limb. They know about my physical condition. Even then, they have harassed me in an attempt to seize our land,” Mishel said.

Kazi Afroza, owner of Royal City Hospital and defendant No. 51 in the case, also expressed anger. She said, “Someone came to me with documents related to the case. I was told that my name would be excluded if I paid a large sum of money. I am not involved in Awami League politics, so I refused. Later, I found that I had been named as a defendant.”

Shahidul Islam Shahed, former convener of the Barishal metropolitan unit of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, said Marzuk Abdullah had been removed from the organization over allegations of extortion and robbery. “Even after that, he remains beyond control. Law enforcement should arrest him and bring him under the law,” he said.

Barishal Metropolitan BNP Member Secretary Ziauddin Sikder said, “Marzuk and his group are running a case-trading business in Barishal. They have filed cases against leaders and activists of our party. Even those who actively participated in the July movement have been named as defendants. The party will decide what action to take regarding who is involved in this group and who is backing them.”

Repeated attempts to contact Sultan Khan, the man described as Marzuk Abdullah’s uncle, for comment on the allegations of case-trading were unsuccessful.

Regarding the failure to arrest Marzuk Abdullah despite the outstanding warrant, senior Barishal lawyer Azad Rahman said, “A person wanted under an arrest warrant cannot openly move around. If he remains in hiding, law enforcement may not be able to find him. On the other hand, he may be operating under the protection of a political party, which could explain why police have not arrested him. Furthermore, if someone files a false case, the court can take strict action under existing laws. The punishment may include fines and imprisonment ranging from two to seven years.”