Big thugs of a small town

Long before their alleged involvement in the killing of Rifat Sharif, brothers Rifat Farazi and Rishan Farazi were already known as two terrorising figures in the small town of Barguna.

Their involvement in narcotics trade, extortion and hooliganism were all public knowledge and in police records, but the two brothers roamed the area with almost total impunity, police and locals said.

Even the family of a police officer and an elected councillor faced their wrath when they tried to stand against their “criminal activities,” they added.

Since 2015, the two brothers, aged 26 and 20, were named in at least six cases over attempted murders, extortion, illegal gathering and causing injuries. They were de-tained on several occasions over these charges, but every time they walked out of the police station within a couple of days or even hours.

This is for the first time they have been behind bars this long since their arrests over the murder of Rifat, 25.

Rifat was hacked to death in broad daylight on June 26 in Barguna town. A video foot-age of the incident shows Aysha Siddika Minni trying in vain to save her husband from the attackers. Police are not treating Minni as a suspect.

In that footage, Rifat Farazi was seen making the first strike with a machete with Rishan holding the victim from behind. Police said the two brothers admitted their in-volvement in the killing.

Over the last few days, The Daily Star has spoken to at least 15 people who have seen them transform from students to drug abusers to some sort of gangsters. These people include police officers, journalists, lawyers, political party leaders, townspeople, victims and witnesses of their criminal activities.

THE RISE

Rifat Farazi, elder of the two brothers, completed SSC from Barguna Zila School and got admitted to Infra Polytechnic Institution in Barishal in 2014. Rishan, who passed SSC from the same school, is a second-year student at Barguna Govt College.

During his time at the Polytechnic, Rifat started taking drugs resulting in his poor show in exams.

“Rifat Farazi was not regular in class and he used to flunk in exams,” said Amir Hoss-ain, a director at the institute.

His association with Sabbir Hossain Nayan, also known as Nayan Bond, the prime suspect in Rifat Sharif murder, began in 2015, according to his aides. (Nayan was killed in a so-called gunfight.)

Rifat Farazi left the institute in 2016 without completing his course after his uncle Del-war Hossain became chairman of the district council.

The Farazi brothers looked after a part of the drug supply network run by Nayan, ac-cording to the sources.

They were also involved in mugging and extortion, snatching people’s phone and lap-tops, according to a local Chhatra League leader. Other sources supported his claim.

“Rifat snatched at least two dozen phone sets in the last six months from the students living in the hostel of Barguna Government College,” said the Chhatra League leader.

“They returned the phones only after getting money from the students,” he added.

“REIGN OF TERROR”

Except for a police officer, now posted in a different district, and a local councillor, none of the 15 plus people The Daily Star spoke to would go on record, an indication how they fear reprisal. They said the patrons of the two brothers were politically influ-ential, but would not give any name.

In October last year, just two months before the national elections, a local man found himself in trouble after he lodged a complaint against Rifat Farazi for “demanding ex-tortion money”.

“Police had detained him after I informed them about the matter. But he managed to get out within hours and then started threatening me. I could not come out of home in fear for a few days,” he said.

“I doubt the brothers will face punishment in the Rifat killing case. If they come out on bail, they would be more ferocious,” he said.

About three years ago, Rifat Farazi attacked the house of Delwar Hossain, a sub-inspector of Barguna Police Station at the time, on DKP Road in the town.

“Once my family members asked Rifat and his followers not to loiter around my house as they would take drugs openly,” said Delwar, now posted in Jhalakathi.

“Rifat attacked my house with a machete and damaged the door. Police had arrested him, but he was freed soon on bail,” he said.

A businessman in the college street said, “The two brothers, along with Nayan Bond, created a reign of terror in the town. Everyone is afraid of them. We don’t feel safe even after their arrest as we know they will get bail. They have some influential leaders to have their back.”

Faruk Sikder, a councillor of Ward-8 of Barguna municipality, shares this view.

“An influential leader has been patronising them for their criminal activities,” he said, but declined to name the leader.

Locals and police sources said they used to get backing from their uncle Delwar, also former Awami League MP from Barguna-1. Delwar and his wife Shamsunnahar Khuki love them as their children after the death of their son, Sourav, six years ago from an illness. Ever since they two brothers would call Shamsunnahar ‘ma’.

Multiple police officials said Delwar would always intervene every time police detained the two brothers for their criminal activities.

Rifat Sharif, the victim of the two brothers and their fellow gang members, had a heated exchange with Shamsunnahar over parking his bike a couple of months ago. The two brothers got angry with him and wanted to take revenge, according to the sources.

“During the attack on Rifat, the two brothers were shouting ‘why did you misbehave with our mother. Tell us,” an eyewitness of the brutal murder told The Daily Star on Monday, quoting the two brothers.

Delwar said he never requested police to free them from custody.

He said they were only in touch with Rishan, the younger of the two brothers, for the last couple of years.

“I even asked Rifat not to visit my home for his criminal activities,” he said, adding that he or his wife had no conflicts with Rifat Sharif.

Barguna Police Superintendent Maruf Hossain said he was new to the post and could not say why police failed to take stronger actions against them all these years.