A high-profile alleged criminal was gunned down in broad daylight Monday morning outside the National Medical College Hospital in Old Dhaka, in what police described as a targeted attack likely linked to internal gang rivalries.

The victim, Tariq Saif Mamun, 55, son of SM Iqbal from Laxmipur and resident of a rented apartment in Dhaka’s Aftabnagar, was shot dead around 10:55am. Police identified him as a listed top criminal.

According to Deputy Commissioner Ahsan Uddin Sami of Lalbagh Division Police, Mamun was a “top-tier terrorist” with documented involvement in organized crime networks.

Police sources said Mamun previously had close ties with Sanjidul Islam Emon, another notorious figure in the country’s criminal underworld. However, a prolonged power struggle between the two over control of extortion, arms trafficking, and recruitment may have triggered the assassination.

“This appears to be a case of inter-gang rivalry within the radical-criminal ecosystem,” said DC Sami. “We are treating this as a planned elimination.”

Mamun was first taken to National Medical College Hospital and later shifted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), where doctors pronounced him dead. Four bullet wounds were found during post-mortem examination.

CCTV footage shows Mamun leaving the hospital gate when two masked men wearing caps approached from behind and fired several shots at close range. Wounded, he tried to run back toward the gate before collapsing.

Witnesses said the attackers briefly entered the hospital compound, firing in the air before fleeing on foot toward Kabi Nazrul College, in what police described as a “movie-style” escape.

“After hearing gunshots, we rushed out and saw a man lying in a pool of blood just outside the main gate,” said Mohibullah, a ward master at National Medical. “We pulled him inside and called for an ambulance.”

Security guard Ruhul Amin said Mamun had left the hospital just minutes before the attack.

Assistant Commissioner Fazlul Haque of Kotwali Zone said a case has been filed, and a specialized team is analyzing surveillance footage from several locations along the suspects’ escape route.

“We have identified the two shooters and are closing in,” DC Sami added. “Arrests are expected soon.”

The audacity of the attack, carried out near a major public hospital during peak hours, has raised concerns about urban security and the growing boldness of armed criminal networks in Dhaka.

A photograph circulating online shows a young girl weeping as she embraces her father’s body inside the hospital morgue, a moment that has evoked widespread sympathy on social media.