Police have arrested another suspect, Md Russel, 22, in connection with the murder of Tanzil Jahan Islam, also known as Tamim, 34, a broadcasting journalist of the private television channel Deepto TV, in the Hatirjheel area.
Law enforcement also reported that a manhunt is underway to apprehend BNP leader Sheikh Robiul Alam Robi.
Russel was arrested in the early hours of Saturday from the capital. This brings the total number of arrests related to the murder to six.
The five individuals previously arrested are Abdul Latif, 46, Kurban Ali, 24, Mahin, 18, Mozammel Haque Kabir, 52, and Bandhan, 20.
Hatirjheel police station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Md Golam Azam provided these details during a press briefing on Saturday afternoon. He mentioned that Russel was identified from CCTV footage of the crime scene and was directly involved in the murder.
Additionally, a raid is ongoing to arrest Sheikh Robiul Alam Robi, managing director (MD) of Pleasant Property and a member of BNP's central committee, for his alleged involvement in the crime. The BNP central executive committee has issued a show-cause notice to Robiul regarding his alleged involvement in the criminal attack.
According to the case documents, Tamim was killed over a dispute between land owners and a developer company. There was a longstanding dispute between three landowners and the developer company Pleasant Properties about the handover of flats.
As per the contact, each landowner was supposed to get five flats. However, the developer company handed over to Tamim's father, who was one of the landowners, two flats in 2023, and was dilly delaying to handover the remaining units in spite of having completed the construction.
Earlier on Thursday morning, Tanzil Jahan Islam was murdered in Hatirjheel. Following the incident, the victim's father filed a case naming 16 people as suspects.
During a press conference at the DMP Media Center on Friday, Ruhul Kabir Khan, deputy commissioner (DC) of Tejgaon Division, confirmed that BNP leader Sheikh Robiul Alam's involvement in the murder was initially found. Robiul, the company owner, had a longstanding dispute with the landowner.
Police also revealed the preliminary involvement of Mohammad Mamun, Deputy Director of the Department of Narcotics Control, in the case. Mamun had purchased an apartment in the same building in the name of his father-in-law.
