Published : 27 Sep 2026, 09:43 PM
Updated : 27 Sep 2026, 09:58 PM
Traces of destruction remain scattered across several structures targeted in an attack on the New Gini Properties housing project in Dhaka’s South Manikdi.
Sharp weapon marks line different areas, glass shards cover the floor, and spent bullet casings lie on the ground amidst overturned furniture and scattered construction materials.
This was the scene at the housing site in the ECB Square on Sunday afternoon following a midnight attack, vandalism, and looting by a crowd of more than a hundred people on Saturday.
The project’s management claims an organised gang carried out the attack to extort money and seize control of the land.
Owner Nazim Uddin Bhuiyan alleged that the gang had repeatedly demanded millions of taka in extortion over the past months.
Police, however, are yet to confirm the exact motive behind the assault.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) officers believe the incident might stem from an ongoing land dispute between rival factions.
Police confirmed four people have been arrested in connection with the case.
The studio of content creator Salman Muqtadir was among the properties damaged.
He blamed individuals affiliated with the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) for the attack.
On-site observations showed the entrance gate of the housing project sits roughly 200 yards off the main road.
Just inside the gate, two buildings stand to the right, whilst a straight road leads ahead after a left turn. Salman’s studio is situated on the left side of this road, opposite a graveyard.
According to residents and workers inside and near the project, the attackers breached the main gate before launching an immediate assault on an under-construction ten-storey building to the right.
Construction on the building has only reached the second floor, where a doctor couple was residing in a flat.
Local reports indicate the miscreants forced their way into the flat, assaulted the couple, and looted their belongings.
Salman’s studio, enclosed by corrugated iron sheets with multiple entry points, was heavily damaged.
Inside, spent bullet casings lay on the floor, furniture and content creation equipment were smashed, and shattered glass covered the ground.
CCTV camera cables had been severed. Traces of vandalism were also visible across several other buildings within the complex.
Those affiliated with the project alleged that the attackers arrived in four or five pickup trucks to carry out the raid.
They claimed the group vandalised whatever items they could not carry off, loading the looted property onto the vehicles before fleeing.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a local shopkeeper said that whilst closing his shop after 10:30pm on Saturday, he saw masked individuals entering the project area in groups of two and three.
"I left when I saw the situation turning bad," he said.
The shopkeeper added that the site had been attacked before, including on the night of the government's fall on Aug 5, 2024, though that incident was less severe.
Nazim reiterated that the primary motives were land grabbing and extortion.
Charging an organised syndicate with the crime, he said: "The gang used various tactics to demand different sums of money at different times.
“Over the past month, they tried to pressure me by demanding 10 million, 5 million, and sometimes up to Tk 20 million. I consistently refused to pay them."
He also alleged that local political operatives were involved in the extortion attempts.
When asked who was behind the land grab attempt, Nazim implicated a former senior government official.
He explained that he had purchased a 10-katha (0.0669 hectares) plot in the area from the official, who subsequently completed the land registration.
However, he clarified that the primary dispute did not involve this specific plot.
"The main issue is that there is additional land adjacent to those 10 kathas, which he had me develop," Nazim said.
"He took money from me to develop that space, but now he is refusing to execute the registration."
Following the violence, one of New Gini Properties Ltd directors Md Saiful Islam Bhuiyan filed a case with Cantonment Police Station.
The lawsuit names 13 individuals, including former major general Golam Mohiuddin Chowdhury, along with 150 to 200 unnamed suspects.
Police said four people have been arrested so far, including the primary accused Shahria Mahmud.
