A Union Parishad chairman and a motorcyclist were killed as assailants sprayed bullets on them at Ahmedabad in Rupsha upazila of Khulna district Saturday morning, police said.
One of the deceased, Khan Jahid Hasan, 48, was chairman of Fakirhat sadar union in Bagerhat and acting general secretary of Fakirhat upazila unit of ruling Awami League.
The other is Munna Sheikh, 35, son of Abdul Kalam of Rupsha bus stand area. Both were on the motorcycle when miscreants attacked them in front of Ahmedabad Primary School. Both died on the spot, Fakirhat thana Officer-in-Charge Masudul Hasan said.
The chairman was on the way to Fakirhat from his Khulna residence.
Police did not have any clue about the murders, but local Awami League points finger at outlawed leftists’ groups.
Meanwhile, Jahid’s father Khan Ilias Hasan 85, former professor of Fakirhat College and a resident of Satshoiya village in Rupsha upazila, suffered a stroke after hearing the news of his son’s death.
He was admitted to a local clinic.
Outraged by the double murder, locals put barricade on Khulna-Dhaka highway at Katakhali crossing. They also vandalised and torched several vehicles.
Quoting Fakirhat Police Station OC, a UNB report from Bagerhat said a group of unidentified miscreants in 4/5 motorbikes pounced on Jahid and Munna in front of Ahmedabad High School while they were going to Fakirhat upazila from Rupsha riding a motorcycle at about 10am.
The gangsters opened fire on them, leaving them on the spot. The UP chairman was hit by three bullets in head and other parts of the body.
Police recovered a live bullet and two bullet shells from the spot.
Police super of Khulna Golam Rauf Khan and deputy assistant director of Rapid Action Battalion-6 Dilip Kumar visited the spot.
Jahid was buried at his family graveyard following two namaz-e-janazas in the afternoon.
Officer-in-charge of Rupsha Police Station Mizanur Rahman said it’s not still clear as to who committed the murders and why.
President of Fakirhat upazila unit Awami League Swapan Das said Jahid had received threats from several outlawed party men and political leaders.
Jahid had lodged two general diaries (GD) with Bagerhat and Khulna thana in this regard, added Sawpan.
Our Correspondent reports, Rupsha thana OC (inspection) Ziaul Islam said outlawed group ML Janajuddha claimed the responsibility of the murder in a short text message sent to a mobile phone of a Khulna journalist.
The underground armed group has been known in the Khulna-Jessore region since 2001. The group was accused of murdering four journalists and several political persons in the region. The name of the group had not been heard much since the death of its founder Abdur Rashid Maliha during a raid in Kustia by law enforcers, local people said.
Additional Superintendent of Police of Bagerhat Pankaj Chandra Roy said they would comment on the basis of findings of the investigation.
