Three Attacks in One Day in Khulna: Jubo Dal Leader and Shopkeeper Shot, Sandhani Clinic Ransacked at Night

Three shootings and attacks in a single day in Khulna have spread fear across the city. On Saturday morning, Jubo Dal leader Ramim Biswas was shot in Terokhada; in the evening, grocery shopkeeper Dhananjay Kundu, also known as Akash Kundu, was shot in Dakshin Tutpara; and at around 9:15pm, masked men fired a blank round and ransacked two chambers inside the Sandhani Clinic and Diagnostic Complex on Babukhan Road. The sequence from morning to night has raised serious questions about public safety.

The night attack took place at Sandhani Clinic, opposite Khulna Commerce College on Babukhan Road. Police and local sources say eight to ten masked men entered the clinic at about 9:30pm, while another account puts the time at about 9:15pm. The attackers first fired one round in front of the clinic or from across the road. The sound of gunfire panicked people nearby, and those on the street began running in every direction.

Inside, the attackers smashed the glass in front of Professor Dr Md Qutubuddin Mallik’s chamber, then broke the glass in front of Dr Moazzem Hossain’s chamber along with chairs and tables inside. They then attacked the cash counter and smashed all its glass. Terrified doctors fled to save themselves, while patients who had come for treatment scattered in panic.

As they left, the attackers fired another round to spread fear among people outside and walked away towards Babukhan Road, locals said. Before that, they snatched the mobile phone used by the clinic’s report provider, Iqbal Hossain. One account says clinic official Suresh Roy was injured, although police said no one was hurt in the firing and vandalism at the clinic.

Clinic supervisor Kalyani said staff had been working as normal that night. At about 9:30pm, several masked men came smashing their way from the front to the cash counter, forcing staff to run outside; only after the attackers left did they go back in. Her account underlines how sudden the attack was and how helpless the staff felt.

Khulna Sadar Police Station Officer-in-Charge Md Lokman Hossain said the criminals fired a blank round in front of the clinic, entered and carried out the vandalism, but the clinic authorities were saying nothing about why it happened, and police were investigating. Assistant Commissioner of Khulna Metropolitan Police Md Shafiqul Islam said the clinic authorities had been unavailable since the incident and were offering no cooperation, adding that the investigation was continuing and whoever was involved would get no leniency.

Earlier in the evening, grocery shopkeeper Dhananjay Kundu, also known as Akash Kundu, 45, was shot while sitting inside his own shop in the Gachtola area of Dakshin Tutpara. He suddenly cried out that a bullet had hit his lower abdomen. Local people rescued him and took him to Khulna Medical College Hospital, and police recovered a bullet casing from the scene.

Officer-in-Charge Lokman Hossain said the nature of the shooting initially suggested Akash Kundu may have been shot to frighten him rather than to kill him. He is known locally as a gentle man. Police initially suspect extortion may lie behind the incident, and he said officers were working to identify those involved and were investigating the matter.

The day’s first incident took place in the morning in Terokhada Upazila. Local sources and police say Jubo Dal leader Ramim Biswas, 32, was travelling by van towards Kolabazar. At about 11:15am, near Khan Bricks at Parhajigram on the Senerbazar-Madhupur road, attackers on a motorcycle shot at him from behind, hitting him in the back. He was admitted to Khulna Medical College Hospital. He is president of the Ward 3 Jubo Dal of Madhupur Union No. 6 in Terokhada Upazila.

A political leader in the morning, an ordinary shopkeeper in the evening and a medical facility at night — the sequence has deeply worried Khulna residents. Firing and vandalism in a crowded area, at a sensitive place such as a clinic, spread panic among local residents and people connected with the clinic. Law enforcement members reached the scene after being informed, and an investigation has begun to establish who carried out the attacks and why.

Whether the three incidents are connected is not yet clear. Police have been unable to give a definite motive or identify those responsible in any of the cases. Extortion is suspected in the shopkeeper shooting, but the reasons for the attack on the Jubo Dal leader and the ransacking of the clinic remain unknown. What matters now is how quickly the investigations uncover the truth and whether a normal sense of security returns to the city.