Janajuddha founder killed in 'shootout'

Abdur Rashid Malitha

Abdur Rashid Malitha alias Tapan alias Dada Tapan, founder of outlawed Janajuddha, was killed in a 'shootout' with Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) in the early hours yesterday.
A woman reportedly from the 'women wing' of the outfit also died during the 'shootout'.
The Rab recovered huge arms and ammunition including one AK47, books and leaflets of the banned outfit and also arrested Tapan's elder brother Akash.
Operatives of the outlawed communist outfits see the death as another blow to their two-decade underground "armed struggle" in the south and northern regions to establish socialism after the death of Mofakkar Hossain, founder of Purba Banglar Communist Party (PBCP-ML), in 2004.
Mofakkar was killed in 'crossfire' when Rab members came under attack in Kushtia on December 17, 2004.
Tapan was leading Janajuddha, one of the factions of PBCP-ML, since it establishment in 1999 and unleashed a reign of terror in some 10 southwestern and five northern districts.
The Rab personnel were tracking him and have recently learned that he was hiding somewhere in Kushtia.
"We had information Tapan and his brother Akash [also known as Kaitta Akash] were hiding in separate houses at Udibari and Baradi near the outskirts of Kushtia town," Lt Col Neftaur Rahman, director of Rab-6 who led the drive, told newspersons.
A joint force from Rab-6 and Rab-12 raided a house in Udibari village around 1:00am and arrested Akash who was living there with his wife and one-year son. The elite force recovered one 9mm pistol, 800 bullets, 5,000 books or booklets and 5,000 leaflets of the underground outfit from under his bed.
Following information squeezed out of Akash, Rab cordoned off another house in Baradi around 1:30am and knocked at the door in the guise of a neighbour.
A woman named Rikta alias Maksuda, aged around 30, came out. Seeing the law enforcers, she leapt back to the house and shut the door.
"A few moments later, gunshots rang out from the house, prompting us to retaliate" Neftaur said.
After the one-and-a-half-hour shootout, Rab men stormed into the house and found Tapan and Rikta dead.
The dead were sent to Kushtia General Hospital for autopsy.
The law enforcers said Tapan built the two houses between 2004 and 2007 buying two pieces of land. Neighbours said they had seen Akash and Tapan several times but never doubted their identities.
THE WOMAN
Mystery shrouds the identity of Rikta alias Maksuda, who is said to be the first woman cadre of the 'women wing' of Janajuddha.
Sources say Tapan recently formed the 'women wing' for his outfit and made Rikta its commander. She was his close aide and always travelled and lived with him wherever he went in the last three years.
Police say Rikta, daughter of Shariful Islam, hailed from Beparipara in Jhenidah town.
Rab personnel suspect she received training on underground politics and always carried firearms. She also took part in different operations led by Tapan, they add.
Sources say Janajuddha had to form the 'women wing' as most of its men have been identified and many are dead. They add these women operatives wear veils and easily hide arms under it without raising suspicion.
RISE OF TAPAN
Hailing from Bishaykhli village in Jhenidah sadar, Tapan, son of Ibadat Ali, received madrasa education and passed Dakhil [equivalent to SSC] before joining the NGO Gono Sahajya Sangstha in Digholia, Khulna in 1981.
The NGO fired him as part of a disciplinary action following which he came in contact with criminals in 1982-83. He was arrested by police for criminal offences, but the days behind bars led him the way to becoming a more severe criminal.
Once out of jail, he committed the first murder by killing Imran Gazi of Dumuria, Khulna. Sources say he along with his accomplices went to Imran for talks in Sholgatia and gunned him down on the spot.
He joined PBCP-ML in 1983, used to accompany one of the top brass Abdur Rashid Tapu and became an important member of the outfit through his dynamic activities.
The outfit made him the chief of its military wing and during this period he was involved in a large number of crimes including murders. He was on a killing spree as his involvement was suspected in most of the murders in the region during this time.
The joint force arrested him in Meherpur in 2001. However, his associates 'rescued' him from the Khulna judge's court premises on January 26, 2002. Tapan could not be held since then.
Allegations are rife that his escape from the court premises was a "set-up" and that the then ruling party needed him to establish political supremacy in the region.
He defected from PBCP-ML and launched Janajuddha faction in June 2003. Tapan himself became the general secretary and made Mao Tse-tung, leader of Chinese revolution, the president.
The faction distributed 25,000 leaflets in southwestern region calling for "social revolution" to establish a "classless labourers' society".
Janajuddha earned heavy notoriety and built numerous strongholds in the region within short time. During 2003-2008, the outfit killed at least 500 people including political leaders and workers, members of law enforcement agencies, public representatives, journalists, businessmen, contractors and general people.
Deviating from its 'ideals', the outfit was involved mainly in toll collection and its operatives did not hesitate to kill anyone who refused toll. After every murder, Janajuddha claimed responsibilities in phone calls or fax messages.
A Janajuddha-published book says it killed 272 people during 2003-2005, including at least 16 policemen.
According to Rab and police, Tapan was accused in 80 cases including over 50 for murders filed with different police stations. The others cases include abduction, rape and extortion.
Sources say at least 200 leaders and cadres of Janajuddha were also killed in 'crossfire' during shootouts with law enforcers, or by rivals since June 2004.
The authorities have beefed security measures in all 10 districts in Khulna and five districts in Rajshahi in fear of backlash from the outlaws. All the police stations, outposts and camps in the divisions have been put on alert.
The ongoing combing operation by joint forces started on May 28 has been intensified to track town Janajuddha operatives and others outlaws.