Criminals have hacked to death Zahid Hasan Bulbul, 38, a local leader of Islami Jubo Andolon and the complainant in a case filed over an attack and looting at his rickshaw garage, stemming from his participation in the anti-discrimination student movement, in Narayanganj’s Bandar upazila. Police have arrested nine people in connection with the killing, including a gang leader known as Sifat.
The victim, Zahid Hasan Bulbul, was the son of the late Raja Master of the Shahi Masjid Thakurbari area, Ward 22, Bandar. He was joint secretary of Islami Jubo Andolon Bangladesh’s Bandar police station chapter. The killing took place around 10 p.m. Thursday in the Salehnagar area of Bandar, stemming from his refusal to withdraw a case and from prior enmity.
Protesting the killing and demanding the arrest and exemplary punishment of those responsible, activists from Islami Andolan Bangladesh blockaded the Dhaka-Chattogram highway at the Madanpur bus stand area of Bandar on Friday morning. They took up positions on the highway at 10 a.m., burning tires, causing severe traffic congestion on both sides. Police later arrived and assured them that everyone involved in the killing would swiftly be arrested and brought to justice, after which the activists lifted the blockade around 10:45 a.m. and traffic returned to normal. Shortly before Friday prayers, they staged a further protest by surrounding Bandar police station.
In connection with the killing, police carried out an operation early Friday in the Kadamrasul Mathpara area of Ward 23, Bandar, arresting Sifat gang leader Sheikh Sifat, 28, along with eight other members of the gang.
Sheikh Sifat, of the Shahi Masjid area, Ward 21, Bandar, is the son of Shahin, alias Ring Shahin. The other eight arrested are Mahbub Hossain, alias Mahfuz, 32, of Barpara, Bandar; Jumman, alias White Jumman, 29, of the Nabiganj Kadamrasul Fakirbari area; Riyad, 33, of the Bandar Shahi Masjid area; Siyam, 25, of Kadamrasul Mathpara; Irfan, 29, of the Bandar Chitashal area; Minara, 35, of Salehnagar; Nasima Begum, 36, also of Salehnagar; and Ruma Begum, 36, also of Salehnagar.
Preparations are under way to file a murder case at Bandar police station, with the victim’s elder brother, Zubaid Al Amin, as complainant.
According to the victim’s relatives and local sources, Bulbul actively took part in the anti-discrimination student movement in August 2024. Because of his participation, his rickshaw garage was attacked and extensively looted. His brother, Zubaid Al Amin, said 18 rickshaws were looted from the garage at the time.
Over that incident, Bulbul filed a case at Bandar police station on August 20, 2024, naming Sheikh Sifat and several others as accused, with Sifat listed as the first-named defendant. Since filing the case, Bulbul had continuously received death threats demanding he withdraw it.
On Thursday night, as Bulbul was passing through the Salehnagar area, members of the Sifat gang found him alone and surrounded him, pressuring him to withdraw the case. An argument broke out, and the assailants hacked Bulbul repeatedly with sharp weapons, leaving him bleeding on the road before fleeing. Local residents rescued him and took him to Narayanganj General Hospital, where the attending physician declared him dead.
As news of the killing spread, anger and tension erupted across the area. Local residents and Islami Andolan activists took to the streets carrying improvised weapons, burning tires and protesting late into the night.
At one point amid the tense atmosphere, protesters attacked the homes of Sheikh Sifat and his relatives, vandalizing and setting fire to them. A tense atmosphere and fear currently prevail across the area, and a large contingent of additional police has been deployed at the scene to prevent further unrest.
Bandar police station officer-in-charge Jamaluddin said the killing stemmed from prior enmity and the case Bulbul had filed. In an operation early Friday, Sifat gang leader Sheikh Sifat, White Jumman and nine gang members in total were arrested. A wider police operation to arrest other suspects remains under way, and preparations are being made to file a case over the incident.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report