Small gangs grew larger in Mohammadpur in the 1980s and 1990s. According to former police officers, the use of firearms by criminals had increased in Dhaka during that period. He controlled extortion, tender manipulation and the drug trade. He also worked to establish dominance on behalf of political parties. Killings over control and dominance between politics and crime were quite regular.
Case documents, old newspapers and police reports reveal that in the early 1990s, a major criminal group in Mohammadpur was controlled by Tofayel Ahmed alias Joseph, younger brother of former army chief Aziz Ahmed. He came into limelight in 1993 by shooting dead student leader Morshed. At that time his brother Haris Ahmed was also a big criminal, but Yusuf’s name was more famous.
In 1996, Joseph’s group murdered contractor Mustafizur Rahman. In that case, Joseph and his brother Abu Sayeed Tipu were arrested in 1997. Joseph was sentenced to life imprisonment. After serving 20 years, he was released under presidential pardon in 2018 during the Awami League government.
He left the country shortly before the fall of that government in 2024.
At one time, members of Joseph’s group included Sanjidul Islam (Iman), his brother-in-law Naeem Ahmed (Titan), and Imamul Hassan Helal alias Pichchi Helal. Among them, Iman and Pichi Helal later formed separate groups and were listed as top criminals by the police.
At least seven people were killed in Mohammadpur over control and dominance from 1993 to 2000.
On 13 March 1999, Joseph’s brother Abu Saeed Tipu and his friend Imran were killed by Iman’s group.
In 2001, during the BNP-led four-party coalition government, the police published a list of top criminals. The list included Iman, Titan, Pichi Helal and Haris Ahmed.
Except Haris, the rest were arrested. Taking advantage of this, some new criminal groups were formed under the patronage of some local BNP leaders. These included Ehsanul Haq Setu, Abul Hashem Hasu, Nabi Hussain and KS Ahmed Raju.
According to reports published in Prothom Alo, from 2001 to 2004, at least 40 people, including 30 BNP activists, were killed in conflicts over local dominance. RAB was formed in 2004. After that, with a series of murders of criminals in the so-called “crossfire”, many criminals fled the area.