12 held after fresh attack on ECB housing project; police probe alleged 1 crore taka contract

Police have arrested 12 people following another attack on New Guinea Properties, a residential project in Dhaka's ECB Chattar area, as investigators examine allegations that a criminal gang was hired for 1 crore taka to carry out an earlier assault on the property.

More than 100 people allegedly stormed the project around 4pm on Saturday, November 7, following a dispute over land ownership.

Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) Md Sajjad Hossain confirmed the arrests to Daily Waadaa on Monday, saying the suspects had been produced before a court.

He said preliminary findings suggested that those involved in Saturday's violence were different from the attackers who targeted the property on September 26.

The earlier attack drew national attention after armed men vandalised content creator Salman Muqtadir's Brownfish Studio, damaged the housing project's offices and several buildings under construction, and allegedly opened fire.

Police intervention prevents escalation

Police said they received information about Saturday's violence through the national emergency helpline, 999. Al Amin, inspector (operations) at Cantonment Police Station, said officers rushed to the property and detained 12 people.

"Our preliminary findings indicated that two groups had clashed over a land ownership dispute," he said.

Investigating officer Imdadul Haque told Waadaa that a large police team, including the officer-in-charge of Cantonment Police Station and senior officers, launched an operation immediately after receiving the alert.

He said the intervention may have prevented a fatal confrontation.

"If we had not reached the scene immediately, someone could have been killed," he said. Haque identified the case as number 3/11/26.

Police have not disclosed whether weapons were recovered during Saturday's operation or whether anyone sustained injuries.

Alleged 1 crore taka deal under investigation

Sources familiar with the investigation alleged that the September attack involved members of two Mirpur-based criminal groups and was coordinated by a man identified as Yuvraj, an associate of a gang leader known as "Killer Ibrahim."

According to the sources, 13 people gathered at a food shop in ECB Chattar on the day of that attack to finalise the operation.

They alleged that Shahriar Mahmud, identified as the first accused in the earlier case, contacted Md Ibrahim and agreed to pay 1 crore taka for the assault.

Ibrahim allegedly recruited the attackers and assigned Yuvraj to coordinate the operation.

On September 26, armed men entered New Guinea Properties and vandalised several structures, including Brownfish Studio, the production facility associated with content creator Salman Muqtadir.

The attackers also allegedly looted property and fired shots, creating panic in the surrounding area.

The incident gained widespread attention after Salman went live on Facebook to describe the violence.

Police subsequently attributed the confrontation to a dispute involving land ownership and access roads.

A case was filed against 13 people, including retired Major General Golam Mohiuddin Chowdhury.

Project owner Md Nazim Uddin Bhuiyan alleged that several suspects arrested after the September incident had been released from jail and had returned to attack the development.

"After the first attack, police arrested several criminals and sent them to jail. They came out of jail and attacked my project again," he told journalists.

Nazim said police collected CCTV footage after Saturday's incident and assured him that those responsible would face legal action.

—