Licence to kill

He neither owned any business nor paid income tax when he applied for a licence to buy a firearm for protection of his life and assets. There was no police verification either to assess if he could misuse a gun.

A rather rowdy man, Bakhtiar Alam Rony obtained a small arms licence in 2010 and bought a Turkey-made Taurus pistol which, his inner circle says, he would always carry.

And with this very firearm, he recently killed two innocent men. 

Son of ruling party lawmaker Pinu Khan, Rony got no-objection certificate from the then home minister Sahara Khatun soon after applying for the licence in February 2010.

Apart from the NoC, to get a small arms licence one must have proof of Tk 3 lakh income tax payment and no criminal record.

There was no criminal case against Rony, but he had years of close contacts with several hardened criminals, according to his friends and associates.

His file at the deputy commissioner's office contains the home minister's approval note but no record of his tax payment, DC office sources said.

An AL presidium member and a lawmaker, Sahara can't remember on what grounds Rony was given the licence.

“I can't say about it without going through the file,” the former home boss told The Daily Star last week.

When Rony applied for the licence, his mother was acting general secretary of Awami League's women chapter, the Mahila League.

He owned no business back then but had investment in the stock market. The amount invested could not be known but one of his friends said, “He made some money there and bought a new car.”

Pinu Khan was elected lawmaker from one of the reserved seats for women in 2011.

In her wealth statement, submitted to the Election Commission prior to becoming parliament member, Pinu Khan said her son had no asset. Her 2014 wealth statement read the same.

An influential lawmaker in the capital recommended issuing the licence, according to Rony's family friends who would not name that MP.

“His rowdiness knew no limit after his mother had become a lawmaker in 2011,” said a close friend, adding that Rony used to go to different residential hotels and bars almost every night, used his new identity as the son of a lawmaker and caused nuisance.

He was getting ferocious quite often, brandishing gun to get things in his favours. “We told him many times not to do so, but nothing could stop him,” said the friend, who wished not to be named.

Then there was excessive boozing that made him crazy at times. He also maintained multiple girlfriends, and family members suffered a lot for his life style.

In the early hours of April 14, caught in traffic congestion in the city's Eskaton, Rony indiscriminately fired shots from the car. A rickshawpuller and an auto-rickshaw driver lost their life for nothing.

It was his lawmaker mother's tax-free sport utility vehicle (SUV), which Rony regularly used, especially at night.

At the time of the shooting, he was returning from boozing -- first at Golden Dragon at Eskaton and then Sonargaon Hotel.

His daughter was seriously ill and admitted to ICU of Apollo Hospitals. Still he went out with his friends to take alcohol, according to some of his friends.

She died at the hospital on April 15.

The Daily Star could not reach Pinu Khan over the last two days. Contacted last week over the phone, she said she was feeling sick and wouldn't talk.

Rony was involved with Chhatra League in the 90s and contested for general secretary post in the student union election of Dhaka College. Losing the election, he got detached from politics. 

A few years ago, he got engaged in pre-shipment inspection (PSI) and clearing and forwarding business with his brother-in-law. It became a main source of his income.

He along with some of his friends also started a cafe called Kabana at Banani-27 last year but it was closed following a brawl with a lawmaker there a few months ago over a woman, according to his associates.

Officials aware of Rony's licence said many ruling party men were given arms licence without following due procedures.

“Rony is just one of them,” said a senior official, on condition of anonymity.

Because of wholesale issuing of gun licences, the government has lost count of arms bought against those. Officials say the home ministry is now preparing a database for the licences and the guns.