Jashore’s Titon became a top Dhaka gangster, killed in underworld feud

Fearing he could be murdered if released from prison, top gangster Khondaker Naim Ahmed Titon did not leave jail in 2023 despite securing bail in all cases against him.

About a week after the fall of the Awami League government on 5 August the following year, he got released and moved to re-enter the underworld's old violent path.

On Tuesday (28 April), he was killed in the capital's New Market area.

Titon, 57, ranked number two on the government's 2001 list of 23 top criminals, did not begin his criminal career in a major city.

His rise started in the border town of Jashore. The gangster, who terrorised Jashore in the 1990s, later climbed to number two on the country's list of 23 top criminals.

Titon's ancestral home was in the Kharki area of Jashore town. His father, Fakhruddin, was a senior official at a jute mill in Khulna.

Among 11 siblings, Titon and his brother Tutul entered the world of crime at a young age. With local political backing, they built a reign of terror in Jashore in the early 1990s.

Extortion, land grabbing and arms trading made them infamous.

A major turning point came in 1999. In Jashore's Karbala area, brothers Tutul and Titon allegedly shot dead BNP activists Moslem Uddin Khokon and Tipu in broad daylight within 10 minutes.

Public outrage forced them to flee Jashore for Dhaka. In 2000, Tutul was killed in an alleged crossfire with police, after which Titon went fully underground.

In Dhaka, Titon's fortunes changed through his brother-in-law, infamous gangster Sanzidul Islam Imon. Titon became the second-in-command of Imon's criminal empire.

In 2001, the then government included both Imon and Titon on its list of 23 top gangsters, with Titon ranked number two. Operating from a house in Mohammadpur, he allegedly controlled a nationwide syndicate.

Local sources say Titon built a strong arms smuggling network between Jashore and Dhaka. Illegal weapons entering through the Indian border were stored in Jashore before being supplied to Dhaka's major gangs.

His syndicate was regarded as one of the country's main illegal arms suppliers.

The seasoned criminal was arrested multiple times over the years. After nearly two decades in prison, he was released on bail on 13 August 2024 following political changes after 5 August.

After release, he reportedly tried to regain his lost dominance, but that effort ultimately cost him his life.

Bosila cattle market dispute: Another gangster Pichchi Helal named as mastermind

Investigators say the mystery behind Titon's murder is beginning to clear. It was not a random attack but a planned killing linked to a dispute over the lease of the Bosila cattle market.

Family allegations and preliminary detective findings mention direct instructions from another gangster known as Pichchi Helal, along with four notorious killers and associates.

On Wednesday (29 April), Titon's brother Khondaker Sayeed Akhtar Ripon filed a murder case with New Market Police Station. He said Titon had been living in Hazaribagh after release on bail. 

According to Ripon, Titon told him on 26 April that there was conflict over the Bosila cattle market lease involving Enamul Hasan Helal alias Pichchi Helal, Killer Badal, Shahjahan, Rony and Bhangari Rony.

On 27 April, Titon said he had been invited for a settlement meeting.

The next day, Ripon learned Titon had been shot and taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, where doctors declared him dead.

Witnesses said two armed assailants arrived on a motorcycle around 7:50pm and, with support from five to seven others, opened fire on Titon near Shahnewaz Hall in New Market.

Detectives claim tensions had been rising between Titon and Pichchi Helal over control of the Bosila cattle market. Helal allegedly lured Titon to New Market under the pretext of resolving the dispute.

Sources linked to the investigation say four people were directly involved. Pichchi Helal allegedly coordinated the operation.

Killer Badal is believed to have led the mission and fired the fatal close-range shots. Bhangari Rony was allegedly present as armed backup. Shahjahan is accused of arranging the motorcycle getaway.

Investigators believe Titon's efforts to regain control in Mohammadpur and Bosila after release became a threat to Helal's syndicate. Control of the lucrative cattle market ahead of Eid-ul-Azha may have been a key motive.

Police are reviewing CCTV footage and tracking suspects seen in the area at the time.