Adnan murder: Most FIR-listed suspects still on the lam

Citing that just four of the detainees were FIR-listed, the victim’s relatives alleged that the law enforcers were more interested in arresting unidentified accused than the names ones. On January 6, a local teenager’s gang Disco Boys attacked the members of another such a group called Nine Star at Sector 13 in Uttara. Adnan Kabir, a ninth grader and a Nine Star gang member was subjected to the attack. He was critically injured and later whisked off to a local hospital where he died afterwards. After the death, the schoolboy’s father Kabir Hossain lodged a case with Uttara West police station naming nine people and accusing 10-12 unidentified others. Ever since the incident, the prime accused Naimur Rahman Anik and four other named ones have been on the lam.

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Previously arrested Mehrab Hossain, in his confessional statement, had said that the killers mainly targeted Abrar and Asfaq, two leaders of the Nine Star group. But, they had swooped on Adnan after failing to get hold of the two. Some of Adnan’s friends, requesting anonymity, said Anik had already went into hiding after police failed to arrest him. “Police may not have interest to arrest him[Anik],” claimed one of them. When contacted, Inspector (Investigation) Md Abdur Razzaq of Uttara West police station, refuting the accusation, said: “We are actively trying to arrest all the people behind the assassination.” He admitted the failure to arrest five of the fugitive FIR-listed suspects, though.

In the latest development, police managed to arrest --Rajin Mohammad Hridoy, 20, Shakil Sarkar, 19, and Fakhrul Islam Srabon, 18 – from Gazipur around 11pm on Wednesday.

The trio were not FIR-listed accused, confirmed Razzaq, saying, probe findings revealed their involvement in the incident.

Earlier, Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP)’s Deputy Commissioner (Uttara Division) Bidhan Chandra Tripura on February 14 told the media that the investigation into the murder case was nearing an end.

Bidhan said: “Nearly 90% of the investigation is complete, though the main suspect is still on the run.”

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According to him, five arrestees until that day had confessed to being linked to the murder before a Dhaka court, but none of them was named in the FIR. However, to date, the FIR-listed arrestees --Sadaf Zakir, Nafiz Md Alam Don, Raihan Ahmed Setu and Akhteruzzaman Chhoton –- are yet to admit their crime. The unnamed suspects in their confessional statement had mentioned about the involvement of the identified accused too, DMP sources said. Considering the progress of the investigation, Adnan’s father, however, expressed his confidence over police, urging the latter to arrest Anik in no time.