Law enforcing agencies have prepared a fresh list of 500 'criminals' and their 'godfathers' in three southwestern districts of Chuadanga, Kushtia and Jhenidah and started a fresh operation to nab them.

The 'godfathers' include at least 30 leaders of two parties in the ruling coalition, according to top police officials in the districts.

"All out steps have been taken to check criminal activities in the region and we are hoping success," one of them based in Khulna told this correspondent over telephone seeking anonymity.

This is the third major anti-crime drive in the area since the coalition government took over in 2001.

The drive has been launched against the backdrop of slide in law and order in the crime prone zone,

they admitted.

Earlier drives under Operation Clean Heart and Operation Spider Web failed to make any significant improvement in the situation as most of the top criminals and ring leaders of outlaws cut through the dragnets, mainly due to information leak, allegedly by sections of policemen having links with them.

"Some hardened criminals on the lists were killed in encounter with law enforcers, 133 were arrested and 15 firearms recovered in the ongoing drive", he said. Of the dead, four were in Chuadanga and one in each Kushtia and Jhenidah.

The anti-crime drive will be successful this time as it is being launched jointly by police, Rab (Rapid Action Battalion) and Cobra, they said.

At least 28 persons were murdered by criminals last month-- eight in Kushtia, 13 in Chuadanga and seven in Jhenidah.

The police officials said some leaders of major political parties are involved with various criminal gangs including outlawed parties in the three districts.

These political leaders use criminals to establish supremacy in their areas and in vote rigging. It is an old tradition in the region, they said.

"The situation will not improve overnight," said a high police official in Chuadanga.

According to police sources, at least 10 outlawed parties with 1000 armed cadres grouped in 30 gangs are active in three districts. About 40 lakh people in three districts are hostage to them.

Fifteen ringleaders control the armed cadres who posses about 10,000 illegal firearms, according to sources in intelligence agencies. The parties are Bipplobi Communist Party (BCP), New Biplobi Communist Party (NBCP), Banglar

Communist Party (BCP-Laltu) Gono Mukti Fouj (GMF), Biplobi Anuragi, (BA), Bangladesher Socialist Party (BSP), Jashod Gono Bahini (JGB) and three factions of Purbo Banglar Communist Party (PBCP-ML, PBCP-Janajuddho and PBCP-Red Flag).

The three factions of PBCP are active in 10 districts in the region, while activities of BCP and BCP-Laltu are limited to Chuadanga only. BCP, NBCP, GMF and JGB are active in Kushtia.

According intelligence agencies, 117 'criminals' were killed in encounter with police and Rab (Rapid Action Battalion) in last one year from June 2004 to May 31 this year. Of them, 69 were killed in Kushtia, 36 in Chuadanga and 12 in Jhenidah.

Most of those killed had records of extortion, robbery and abduction for ransom, an official in Khulna said.