All four people who were found dead on the side of Dhaka-Sylhet Highway at Naraynganj’s Araihajar in the early hours of Sunday have been identified.
The families of three of the victims, however, have claimed that the trio was picked up one week ago by people identifying themselves as officials of the Detective Branch (DB) of police.
They made the allegations on Monday while identifying the bodies at the Narayanganj General Hospital morgue.
The three who were allegedly picked up by lawmen were identified as - Sabuj Sardar, 17, Faruk Hossain, 40, and Zahirul Islam, 19. All of them were from Pabna’s Ataikula union.
The fourth deceased was identified on Sunday as Lutfar Rahman Molla, 37, by his wife.
Late on Sunday night, two cases – one under the Penal Code and the other under the Arms Act – were filed at Araihajar police station over the murders of these four. Araihajar police’s Sub-Inspector Rafiqullah lodged the cases against several unidentified people.
Police had recovered the four bodies from Araihajar’s Panchrukhi area around 5am Sunday. They also seized two pistols, bullets and a microbus from the spot.
Autopsy results later showed that three were shot with shotgun on the head from behind and killed, while the cause of death for the fourth person was blunt force trauma on the head and face.
Reached for comment over the families’ claims that the victims were picked up by DB officials, Narayanganj’s Additional Superintendent of Police (crime) Abdullah Al Mamun told the Dhaka Tribune that they learnt about the matter through media reports.
Also Read- 6 found dead in Dhaka and Narayanganj
“But no one from the victims’ families has filed any formal complaint with the police. We will investigate and take proper action once the victim families file complaints,” he said.
Police suspect the killings were the result of gunfights between two groups of either local robbers or criminals. “However, cases have been started. We are investigating. We will also look into the alleged involvement of DB officials,” Mamun said.
What the families say
Deceased Faruk Hossain’s father Jamal Uddin told reporters on Monday that his son was a bus driver on the Bhulta-Gausia route.
“Faruk was not accused in any kind of cases. We heard that he and three other youths were picked up by men identifying themselves as DB policemen from Bhulta area on October 15,” Jamal said.
“Later, we could not reach him over phone as it was switched off. After seeing news reports and pictures in the media, I came to the hospital and identified his body,” said the grief-stricken father.
Deceased Sabuj Sardar’s father Khairul Sardar alleged that his son, who worked in a bakery at Bhulta, was also picked up by DB officers.
Zahirul’s father-in-law Nazrul Islam said his son-in-law came from Pabna and got a job at the same bakery where Sabuj worked.
“We don’t understand why all this has happened,” he said.
On Sunday evening, Lutfar’s wife Reshma Begum said that her husband worked as microbus driver. “He left home around 5pm on Friday for a trip. Since then, his mobile phone was switched off. After I failed to find him, I had filed a general diary with police.”
On September 14, bullet-riddled bodies of three men were also recovered by police from under a bridge in Alampur area at Narayanganj’s Rupganj upazila.
However, their families had also claimed that the victims were picked up by plainclothesmen from DB on September 12.