SHAHEEN MOLLAH and MUNTAKIM SAAD

Clashes between armed gangs have become common in the capital’s Mohammadpur Geneva Camp in recent weeks as drug dealers are trying to take control of the area, residents said.

Locals are now raising alarm over the use of firearms that had not been previously seen in the area.

Experts who have seen the photos and video clips taken by locals during the clashes said the pistols used were probably looted from police last month.

In video clips collected by this newspaper, a group of men were seen firing shotguns, pistols, and rifles.

Locals say they have been hearing gunshots almost every day since the fall of the Awami League government in early August.

On August 6, a day after Sheikh Hasina fled the country, a man named Shahen Shah was shot dead. Another man named Sonu was killed in a major shootout on September 3.

Also known as Bihari Camp, the densely populated Geneva Camp is home to over 25,000 non-Bangla speaking people. Gang activities there centre around drug abuse and trade.

Several residents said they were living in constant fear.

Before he died three years ago, Ishtiaq Ahmed, a notorious drug dealer, controlled the sale of marijuana and yaba in the camp. Several groups emerged after his death, locals said.

One of them, the Bhuiyan Sohel group, began selling heroin in 2022. Eventually, two other groups also started dealing heroin.

Tension ran high in April this year when Imtiaz group also started selling heroin.

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