A businessman was shot in his own drawing room on Saturday in the capital’s Mirpur area.
The deceased was identified as Jafrul Haque Moktar, 55, son of the late Jahirul Haque, hailing from Karupchar village in Madaripur’s Shibchar upazila. Jafrul, the chairperson of Home Text Developer Limited, resided in a two-storey building at Block T, Section 6, under the Rupnagar police station in Mirpur.
According to family members and police, Jafrul was reading a newspaper in his drawing room after having breakfast at around noon, when two people on a motorbike stopped at his house. One of them – wearing a Panjabi – entered the house after ringing the bell.
According to local accounts to police, within half a minute of entering, the assailant fired two shots at Jafrul, hitting him in the chest and left arm. He then fled the scene with his accomplice who was waiting on the motorbike.
Jafrul’s wife Sahida Jafor was asleep when the shooting occurred, as she was feeling ill, while one of his sons, Rajib Ahmed, was having lunch upstairs.
Jafrul was firstly admitted to Square Hospital, but was later moved to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) after his condition deteriorated. Doctors declared him dead at around 2pm after his arrival at DMCH.
Rajib Ahmed, the victim’s son, told the Dhaka Tribune that he saw one Saidul Sikder outside the building right before the incident, while his father also shouted Saidul’s name before being shot.
Mohammad Faisal, the younger brother of the deceased, told the Dhaka Tribune that Jafrul had land disputes with former Shibchar union parishad Chairman Abdur Rab Sikder, and that Abdur Rab Sikder and his brothers Harun Sikder, Babul Sikder and Habib Sikder, attempted to kill Jafrul two years ago.
A case was filed with the Shibchar police station at the time, but the accused secured bail and started threatening Jafrul to withdraw the case, the brother of the deceased claimed.
“It is my suspicion that they killed my brother with hired goons over the dispute, as they are the main enemies of my brother,” Faisal added.
Nuruzzaman, second officer at Rupnagar police station, said the body of Jafrul was sent to Dhaka Medical College morgue for autopsy and an investigation into the incident was being carried out.
He also said police suspected that Jafrul had been killed over business matters and a land dispute.