Killer Abbas, born Abbas Ali, is a Bangladeshi gangster described by The Daily Star as the "top terror of Dhaka's underworld". [1] [2] [3] He was one of many gangsters released after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina led Awami League government. [4] [5] He revived his gang and returned to crime following his release. [6] [7]
Abbas began his criminal career at the age of 16. [8]
Bangladesh Police labelled him "top terror" along with 23 other major gangsters of Dhaka in 2001. [9] [10] The government announced a 50 thousand Bangladeshi Taka reward for information on his whereabouts. [11] In May 2002, Saidur Rahman Newton, Dhaka City Corporation ward commissioner and Bangladesh Nationalist Party politician, was shot dead in Dhanmondi near Rapa Plaza. [12] Abbas was sentenced to death in the murder case in 2006 along with Kala Jahangir. [13] [14] He was acquitted by the High Court Division in 2011. [12]
Abbas was detained on 14 February 2003 from Helvetia fast food in Gulshan after he shot two businessmen at the Dhaka District and Sessions Judge's Court. [1] [10] He was an accused in two murder cases. [10] In September, he was sentenced to life imprisonment for the possession of illegal firearms. [10] He was kept in Narayanganj Jail. [15]
Metropolitan Magistrate Jagannath Das Khokan acquitted Abbas in an attempted murder case from 1998 after the government failed to present persecution witnesses in 2006. [16] There are five other cases against him. [17]
In 2010, Sahara Khatun, Minister of Home Affairs, released a list of top criminals in Bangladesh which included Abbas. [18] He attended a secret meeting of Dhaka gangsters imprisoned in Kashimpur Central Jail, where Bikash Kumar Biswas was elected leader of the various gangs in Dhaka. [19] Threats were sent to the inspector general of prisons, Brigadier General Syed Iftekhar Uddin, after he transferred Abbas to Jessore Jail. [20]
Following the fall of the Sheikh Hasina led Awami League government, Abbas was released from Kashimpur Central Jail in August 2024 along with other top gangsters. [1] [21] After being released, he revived his gang in Mirpur Model Thana, Kafrul Thana, and Bhashantek Thana to engage in extortion. [9] [22] His gang stopped the demolition work of a government school by a contractor as they failed to pay the extortion money demanded. [9] Dhaka Metropolitan Police announced plans to file an appeal against his bail. [23]