Political killings and police scandals erupt across Bangladesh, India and Argentina

A local leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party was gunned down in broad daylight on Friday in the south-western city of Khulna, even as security forces pressed ahead with a sweeping joint operation that has netted 465 arrests in nine days. Rofiqul Islam, 35, a member of the BNP’s Batiaghata upazila convening committee and widely known as ‘Dhakaia Rofiq’, was shot dead by unidentified attackers around midday in the Lobonchora neighbourhood. The killing occurred while the Khulna Metropolitan Police and detective branch were conducting a special drive against extortion, drug trafficking and organised crime, raising immediate questions about whether the crackdown is aggravating political tensions rather than restoring order. [A2]

The same operation has yielded a string of high-profile detentions. Police raided the residence of Roni Chowdhury Babu, a top-listed terror suspect known as ‘Grenade Babu’ who is already serving a life sentence, and arrested his brother Mahmudun Chowdhury, alias Johnny. Separately, officers picked up an associate of another prominent criminal figure, ‘Kauya Miraj’, among 23 people detained in the latest 24-hour sweep. The cumulative tally of 465 arrests since the drive began underscores the scale of the state’s coercive response, yet the murder of a BNP activist while the operation is underway has fuelled opposition accusations that the campaign is politically selective. [A1][A6]

Viewed from New Delhi, the assassination of an Aam Aadmi Party ward in-charge in Jalandhar, Punjab, on the same day reinforces a pattern of political violence that opposition parties are quick to exploit. Satwinderpal Singh, known as Lucky Oberoi, was shot by two scooter-borne assailants outside a gurdwara in the Model Town area. The attack prompted immediate criticism of the AAP government’s handling of law and order, with rivals arguing that the state is failing to protect even its own party functionaries. Analysts in London note that such targeted killings, whether in South Asia or Latin America, often blur the line between organised crime and political score-settling, making them especially difficult for police forces to investigate without appearing partisan. [A4]

In Argentina, the city of Rosario — long a bellwether for narco-related violence — witnessed two starkly different police episodes that have deepened public mistrust. A federal police officer was killed and another gravely wounded during an intelligence-gathering mission in the Villa Banana district when they were ambushed after entering a narrow passageway without protective vests. A civilian bystander was also shot in the chest. Separately, nine provincial police officers were arrested on charges of setting a man on fire during an irregular operation in May 2024; the victim survived, and one of the accused had already been imprisoned in an unrelated case. The juxtaposition of a slain federal agent and a gruesome abuse case involving local police illustrates the dual crisis facing Argentine law enforcement: extreme operational risk and corrosive internal misconduct. [A3][A5]

Taken together, the events in Khulna, Jalandhar and Rosario reveal a common thread: security forces are being deployed aggressively in environments where political loyalties and criminal networks are deeply intertwined, and where public confidence in the impartiality of the state is fragile. In Bangladesh, the sheer volume of arrests may deliver short-term deterrence, but the killing of a BNP figure risks entrenching a narrative of vendetta-driven policing. In Punjab, the murder of an AAP leader will test the ruling party’s ability to maintain credibility ahead of electoral contests. In Argentina, the simultaneous exposure of a police murder and a police torture case is likely to intensify calls for external oversight of the security apparatus. Across all three theatres, the legitimacy of the state’s monopoly on force is being challenged not only by criminals, but by the conduct of the forces themselves.