River Pirates Who Attacked Police in Gazaria Have Fled the Country: Home Affairs Adviser

On Saturday, September 6, 2025, Home Affairs Adviser Lieutenant General (Retd.) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury stated that the river pirates, including Nayan and Piyas, who attacked police personnel at a recently established temporary police investigation center in Jamalpur village, Guwagachhia Union, Gazaria, Munshiganj, have fled the country. Speaking to journalists after inspecting the temporary police camp in the remote area, he said, “The river pirates who attacked the police are no longer in the country. They have escaped to a neighboring country. If they return, their only destination will be Keraniganj [jail].”

Chowdhury, a native of Munshiganj, elaborated, “I am aware of this river pirate group. Law enforcement agencies are making every effort to recover the weapons looted from the police station by these criminals. I visited the temporary police camp today, and a proposal to make it permanent has already been sent to the Home Ministry. I hope it will be made permanent soon.”

Regarding the recovery of looted weapons, he added, “The police are working sincerely. We have also announced rewards for anyone providing information about the looted arms.” When asked about the plight of potato farmers in Munshiganj, Chowdhury, who also serves as the Agriculture Ministry Adviser, said, “I am aware of the issue. To ensure fair prices for potato farmers, we set the price at Tk 22 per kg in cold storage. However, potatoes are not being released from storage, and prices have increased by Tk 1–1.5 per kg compared to earlier rates. Prices may rise further in the next 15 days.” The visit was attended by Dhaka Range DIG Rezaul Karim Mallick, Munshiganj Deputy Commissioner Fatema Tul Jannat, Superintendent of Police Muhammad Shamsul Alam Sarkar, Additional Superintendent of Police (Administration and Finance) Mohammad Kazi Humayun Rashid, and Gazaria Upazila Nirbahi Officer Md. Ashraful Alam, among others. For years, river pirates led by Nayan, Piyas, Ripon, and Lalu have been involved in illegal sand trading and extortion on boats in the Meghna River and its tributaries. Over the past year, several members of these gangs have been killed in internal clashes. To control the situation, a temporary police camp was established in Jamalpur village on August 22. However, on August 25, the pirates attacked the camp using looted police weapons and cocktails. On August 26, Sub-Inspector Azharul Islam Khan of Gazaria Police Station filed a case naming Piyas as the prime accused, along with 20 identified and 25–30 unidentified individuals. Police arrested Ripon Sarkar (41), Piyas’s elder brother, Jamil Uddin (40) from Jamalpur village, and Harun Member (47) from Guwagachhia village. However, the main accused remain at large, and the looted weapons have not been recovered.