The Mirpur division of the Dhaka Metropolitan Detective Branch (DB) and Kafrul police have arrested those involved in the shooting of the Jubo Dal worker Md Yusuf in Kafrul in the capital. The DB says the incident was planned by the joint convener of Kafrul thana Swecchasebak Dal, Hafizur Rahman Hafiz, also known as CNG Hafiz. He hired shooters on a 25 lakh taka contract with the aim of killing the member secretary of Kafrul thana Jubo Dal, Hafizul Islam Babu. Those arrested are Nahid Hasan, Shafin Ahmed, Ziarul Molla, Ali Hossain, Jihad Molla, Masum Billah and Abir Howlader.
A press conference was held at the DMP media centre on Minto Road in the capital at noon on Monday to give details. The DB chief, Additional Commissioner Shafiqul Islam, said Hafiz had planned to kill Babu over a long-running dispute in the area involving the rubbish tender, the occupation of footpaths and control of the neighbourhood. As it happened, however, the Jubo Dal worker Yusuf was killed and two people seriously injured by the gunmen’s fire.
The DB chief said eight people had been arrested, including four shooters directly involved in the killing. Eleven people took part in the mission. Hafizur has been absconding since the incident. Under questioning, those arrested said CNG Hafiz had hired them to kill the Jubo Dal leader Babu. Fifty thousand taka was paid in advance on a 25 lakh taka contract. A shooter named Chanchal was detained with a weapon on the day of the incident.
According to DB sources, the Jubo Dal worker Md Yusuf, the vegetable seller Nalam Sardar and Monir Hossain were shot by several gunmen at the head of the link road on the south side of Opex Garments in Kafrul at about 11.15pm on 24 July. Local people rescued them and took them to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, where doctors declared Yusuf dead. The injured Nalam Sardar and Monir Hossain are under treatment.
Local people caught one of the attackers with a weapon as he tried to flee during the incident and handed him over to Kafrul police station. Police later searched him and recovered a foreign pistol and four rounds of ammunition. Yusuf’s elder brother filed a murder case at Kafrul police station over the incident. The DMP’s Mirpur detective division and Kafrul police began investigating immediately after the case was filed. On 25 July a team from the detective police’s Mirpur division arrested Nahid Hasan and Shafin Ahmed from the Mirpur area. On the basis of information they gave, Ziarul was arrested from the Arpara area of Shalikha upazila in Magura and Ali Hossain from the Mirpur area.
Kafrul police arrested Jihad Molla from Shariatpur and Masum Billah from the Bagharpara area of Jashore. Abir Howlader, also involved in the incident, had been handed over to Kafrul police station by local people after a mob beating.
DB sources said that in initial questioning those arrested said the main planner, Hafizur Rahman Hafiz alias CNG Hafiz, had moved to carry out the plan by hiring professional killers to kill his rival Hafizul Islam Babu.
On 29 June the professional killers Hasan, Ziarul, Chanchal and Jihad, along with another two or three unidentified people, came to Dhaka and met CNG Hafiz. They stayed in room 714 of the Baishakhi Hotel in the Mirpur-10 area and later gathered at CNG Hafiz’s garage. Hafiz’s manager, Nahid, brought two pistols to the garage from Abir Howlader. When one pistol misfired unexpectedly as Hafiz was loading the weapons, the plan to kill that day was called off. The accused did, however, go near Hafizul Islam Babu’s office and identify him, then took 50 thousand taka in advance from CNG Hafiz and returned to their own areas.
They came to Dhaka again on 22 July on Hafiz’s instructions and stayed in room 608 of the Sonali Hotel in the Mirpur-2 area. On the evening of 23 July, as planned, they all gathered again at CNG Hafiz’s garage. There Jihad took two loaded pistols from Nahid and handed one to Ziarul and the other to Chanchal. Ziarul, Chanchal, Hasan, Jihad and Masum Billah, along with another two or three unidentified people, then took up position in front of Hafizul Islam Babu’s office with the aim of killing him. Hafiz’s employee Shafin and Ziarul’s relative Ali Hossain were responsible for reconnoitring the scene, helping the accused to escape, and regularly supplying information about police activity and the situation in the area after the incident.
The DB also said that at about 11pm on the day of the incident, Hafizul Islam Babu was outside his office with party workers when he grew suspicious of several unfamiliar men and asked who they were. When he tried at one point to search them, one of the accused drew a pistol and opened fire. The Jubo Dal worker Md Yusuf was shot in the chest and killed.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report