Journalist Asaduzzaman Tuhin was brutally hacked and had his throat slit in broad daylight by unidentified assailants in Gazipur on Thursday, apparently for trying to record the assault on a young man by several people.
Police said they have been able to make preliminary identifications of the attackers based on CCTV footage and that efforts are underway to confirm their identities and arrest them.
The incident occurred in the evening in front of Masjid Market near the Chandana Chowrasta intersection in the metropolitan area.
Following the incident, Tuhin’s elder brother filed a case against unidentified individuals at Basan police station, Officer-in-Charge (OC) Shaheen Khan confirmed.
The deceased journalist, Asaduzzaman Tuhin, was the son of Hasan Jamal from Bhatipara village in Fulbaria upazila of Mymensingh.
He worked as the Gazipur staff reporter for the Dainik Protidiner Kagoj and lived with his family in the Paler Maath area of Gazipur city.
He is survived by two sons, aged five and two.
Alongside journalism, he also served as a local dealer for a Unani medicine company.
According to local witnesses, six to seven young men armed with machetes and other sharp weapons chased Tuhin in public view.
In an attempt to save his life, Tuhin ran into a tea shop owned by Khairul Islam inside the Eidgah (Masjid) Market.
However, the assailants followed him inside and attacked him with sharp weapons, striking his chest, throat, shoulders and back.
The attack severed part of his throat and left his body severely mutilated, resulting in his death on the spot, the witnesses added.
Video footage of the incident shows a woman dressed in black walking along the western side of Masjid Market at 6:58pm.
A youth in a white-and-black checkered shirt is seen grabbing the woman from behind.
When she resists, the youth attempts to block her path and assaults her.
Moments later, a group of four to five men armed with sharp weapons approaches and appear to target the young man, as seen in the footage.
He manages to escape by running away.
According to Tuhin’s colleague Shamim Hossain, both were sitting in a shop at Chandana Chowrasta shortly before the incident.
He said: “We were walking westward when a woman and a young man quickly passed us. Shortly after, a group of men with sharp weapons shouted, ‘There he is!’ and began chasing the youth. Tuhin took out his mobile phone and ran after them, possibly to record the incident. I followed him shortly after.”
Shamim added: “The assailants paused and looked back. Tuhin ran into a tea shop, but they followed him and hacked him to death before fleeing. I searched for a police patrol vehicle in the area but could not find one, so I called the Officer-in-Charge of Basan police station. Police arrived at the scene shortly afterwards.”
Gazipur Metropolitan Police (GMP) Assistant Commissioner (AC) Rabiul Islam later said that the altercation seen in the footage involved a woman named Golapi, who is believed to be a sex worker.
“She manipulates men into relationships and then arranges for them to be robbed by gang members,” he said.
"According to the preliminary investigation, the gang noticed Tuhin filming the attack and demanded he delete the footage. When he refused, they chased and killed him," the officer added.
The youth injured in the video, identified as Badsha Mia, is currently undergoing treatment at Gazipur Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmad Medical College Hospital, he said.
Police also revealed that an organized gang involved in muggings operates in the Basan, Bhogra and Chandana Chowrasta areas of Gazipur.
The individuals identified in the CCTV footage are believed to be part of this gang and have several cases filed against them in different police stations.
The woman seen in the video is also suspected to be a member of the same gang.
This group is known to carry out muggings using various forms of deception.
Multiple law enforcement teams are now working to identify and arrest those involved in the murder and a police operation is currently underway to apprehend the suspects seen in the CCTV footage.
Meanwhile, UNB reported on Friday afternoon that police had detained five suspects in connection with the gruesome killing of Tuhin but had not disclosed their identities.