‘Top criminal’ Chhoto Sajjad transferred to Rajshahi jail, wife moved to Feni

They have been transferred from Chattogram prison through a normal process, an official says

Sajjad Hossain alias Chhoto Sajjad, a “top-listed” criminal currently behind bars, and his wife have been transferred from Chattogram Central Jail.

Sajjad has been moved to Rajshahi Central Jail, and his wife Sharmin Akter Tamanna to Feni District Jail, Chattogram Senior Jail Super Iqbal Hossain told bdnews24.com on Tuesday.

Although the couple were transferred from Chattogram Jail about a week ago, the matter only became public knowledge on Monday night.

Jail Super Iqbal said, "Prisoners are transferred to jails for multiple reasons, including security. Sajjad and his wife were transferred from Chattogram Jail through a normal process."

Sajjad hails from Hathazari Upazila’s Shikarpur Union. He is known in the port city's Bayezid, Oxygen, and Chandgaon areas as “Chhoto Sajjad” or “Burir Nati”, a follower of the other Sajjad Hossain, a proclaimed offender known as “Boro Sajjad” who fled abroad.

The original Sajjad was a suspect in a decades-old case involving the murder of eight people, after a microbus carrying Chhatra League activists was stopped by positioning a bus across the Shah Amanat Bridge link road in broad daylight.

As his follower, Chhoto Sajjad would extort money in Bayezid and Chandgaon on his behalf.

Police arrested Chhoto Sajjad in the capital’s Bashundhara City Shopping Complex on Mar 15. He was widely discussed for several reasons, including public murders in Chattogram and threatening to beat the Bayezid Police Station chief on a Facebook livestream.

After his arrest, Chattogram Metropolitan Police Commissioner Hasib Aziz described him as the top criminal in the district, saying: "He was responsible for the double murder at Oxygen last August, and subsequently, the public shooting and killing of a person in the Chandgaon area. He was also involved in public extortion with weapons, controlling the garment waste business, and other criminal activities."

The commissioner added, “Chhoto Sajjad carried out his extortion, killings and other criminal activities under the patronage and protection of Sajjad, who is currently living in Dubai."

On Mar 30, two people were shot and killed after their private car was chased and stopped at Chawkbazar Chandanpura of the city. Two others were injured in the incident.

Firoza Begum, the mother of dead Bakhtiar Uddin Manik, filed a case at the Bakalia Police Station, naming seven people for the murder.

She alleged that the murder was carried out under the “planning” of “top criminal” Chhoto Sajjad and his wife, both of whom were in jail.

Chhoto Sajjad's name came up in discussions again after the murder of criminal Dhakaiya Akbar at Patenga Sea Beach on May 23, and the killing of Sarwar Hossain Babla on Nov 5.

After Chhoto Sajjad's arrest, his wife, Tamanna, became controversial for various reasons, including threatening opponents and claiming on Facebook Live that she would secure Sajjad's release with large sums of money.

She was arrested by police on May 10 in connection with the double murder case.