Fresh attack and vandalism at New Guinea Properties, 14 arrested

Another attack, vandalism and fighting have taken place inside New Guinea Properties in the ECB Chattar area of Cantonment in the capital. Police have arrested 14 people in connection with the incident, including 10 men and four women.

The incident took place at around 4:10 pm on Saturday in the area under Cantonment Police Station. Dhaka Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner (Media and Public Relations) Md Akhtar Hossain later confirmed the information in a press release.

Citing local sources, police said the incident stemmed from a financial dispute over buying and selling land.

The press release said a group of 100 to 150 people carrying local weapons entered New Guinea Properties and then began vandalism and fighting. On receiving the news, police reached the spot, brought the situation under control and arrested 14 people.

Police said three of those arrested were in serious condition after the fighting. They were rescued and given primary treatment at Kurmitola General Hospital before being sent to Dhaka Medical College Hospital for better treatment.

Earlier, on the night of September 26, an attack, vandalism and looting also took place at the New Guinea Properties housing project. At that time, content creator Salman Muqtadir's studio was also vandalised and looted. A video posted by Salman Muqtadir on social media about the incident sparked widespread discussion.

Md Yuvraj, identified as one of the 'coordinators' of that attack, has still not been arrested by the Detective Branch of Dhaka Metropolitan Police.

According to investigation sources, Yuvraj, a member of the group of Md Ibrahim alias 'Killer' Ibrahim, convener of Bhashantek Thana BNP, coordinated the attack with members of two terrorist groups from Mirpur.

Investigation sources said that on the day of the September 26 attack, 13 people sat at a food shop in ECB Chattar and planned the attack. At that time, Shahriar Mahmud, the number one accused in the case, contacted Ibrahim and struck a deal of one crore taka for the attack. Ibrahim then gathered people and handed the responsibility to Yuvraj.

So far, 11 people have been arrested on charges of planning and directly taking part in that attack. Eight of them have been released on bail. Investigation sources say nine more people involved in the attack have been identified, and efforts are under way to arrest them.