Police have arrested Tanim Reza Bappi, describing him as a ‘top criminal’ in Dhaka’s Motijheel, over a shooting at a businessman's office in Kamalapur.
Bappi and three associates were arrested near Hotel Purbani in Motijheel on Friday, police said.
A fourth associate was later arrested in Kamalapur based on information they provided, along with the recovery of three foreign firearms.
Those arrested alongside Bappi were identified as Md Jewel, Md Shakil, Md Manik Kazi, and Rakibul Islam Bhuiyan alias Rijon.
Police said gunmen had opened fire on May 19 at the office of a trader who held the lease for a Qurbani cattle market in South Kamalapur.
On May 15, the same trader had received a WhatsApp extortion demand for Tk 1 million along with a death threat, sent from a foreign number.
Additional Commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police Mohammad Osman Gani told a press conference at the DMP Media Centre on Saturday that an investigation into a case filed at Motijheel Police Station over the incident had found evidence linking Bappi and his associates, though they had evaded arrest by staying in hiding for a long time.
He said Bappi and associates Jewel, Shakil and Manik Kazi were arrested near Hotel Purbani in the morning, with a fourth associate, Rijon, arrested from North Kamalapur that afternoon.
Acting on information from them, police raided Bappi's office in South Kamalapur that night and recovered a foreign revolver, two foreign pistols, five rounds of revolver ammunition, two rounds of pistol ammunition, two magazines, an electric shock gun and a foreign-made Chinese hatchet.
A separate case has been filed at Motijheel Police Station under the Arms Act over the recovery, police said.
Additional commissioner said Bappi was known as an armed criminal with links to several shooting incidents, along with allegations of extortion against establishments in Motijheel.
He faces a total of seven cases across DMP police stations on charges including extortion, robbery, kidnapping, attempted murder, violence against women and children, and drugs, though he had never previously been arrested, he added.
Asked about claims that Bappi was an associate of fellow "top criminal" Subrata Bain, officer Gani said police were still investigating who he worked with or under, adding that it was too early to confirm.
Claiming Bappi was involved in multiple criminal activities across Motijheel and Sabujbagh, he said wider interrogation during remand could establish his involvement in other crimes.
In response to a question about the fatal shooting of alleged crime figure Khandaker Naim Ahmed Titon near New Market in April, he said police are continuing to work on the case and hope to produce results soon.
