Law enforcers yesterday arrested Belal Hossain Patowari, a close associate of Ekram who allegedly updated the killers about the Fulgazi chairman’s location, from Khagrachhari’s Matiranga.
Based on information, police arrested 48-year-old Belal, the secretary of Awami League’s Anandapur union unit and a union parishad member, from the house of a local named Abul Basher in Bornal union at around 2:30am, said Mainuddin Khan, officer-in-charge of Matiranga police station.
Ekram’s relatives and locals said Belal worked as a bodyguard for the Fulgazi chairman and had ascended the party ranks with Ekram’s backing.
During interrogation, other arrested suspects said Belal had colluded with them after being promised a better post in the party and a large amount of money. An investigator, seeking anonymity, said Belal had agreed to conspire with the killers as he was unhappy about Ekram’s attitude. Belal – who always accompanied Ekram – did not go with him on the day of the murder, but was aware about the movements of the leader.
Mohibullah Farhad, executive editor of Feni Protidin who was with Ekram during the attack, said on the day of incident, he had called Belal around 10am to ask where the Fulgazi chairman was. Based on Belal’s information that Ekram was at the Diabetes Hospital in Feni, Farhad joined the leader.
Soon after allegations were raised against Belal about his involvement in the murder of Ekram, Awami League suspended him on May 26, said the party’s Fulgazi upazila unit Secretary Abdul Alim. After rumours spread about Belal’s involvement, locals also set the suspect’s house on fire on May 27.
“A team of Feni police has brought Belal to Feni around 9pm on Thursday after getting information of his arrest,” Shamsul Alam Sarkar, senior assistant police super of Feni, told the Dhaka Tribune.
Three more suspects confess
Three more suspects in the murder case – Kazi Shanan Ahmed, Chowdhury Mohammad Nafis Uddin Anik and Helaluddin – gave confessional statement under section 164 of the penal code at the court of Senior Judicial Magistrate Khairul Amin, after investigation officer of the case Inspector Abul Kalam Azad placed them before it.
According to sources, Shanan, in his statement, said he was with Abid – a key suspect in the case – on the evening before the murder, when Abid received a phone call from Jihad Chowdhury directing Abid to go to the Salam Community Centre, which was reportedly the place where the murder was plotted.
Later at around 11pm, Abid called Shanan and asked to bring his friends to the Academy Road – the scene of the crime – at 8am the following day. Reaching there, Shanan said he saw Ruti Sohel, Jihad Chowdhury, Arif, Jubo League leader Jiaul Haque Bappi and around 35 more people waiting there.
Asked about the plan, Abid told Shanan that they would stop Ekram’s vehicle, according to Shanan’s confession.
Meanwhile, Nafis Uddin Anik, nephew of key suspect Mahtab Uddin Chowhdury Minar, said he was a childhood friend of Abid.
In his statement, Anik said he saw that Engineer Rahul was the first to break the window of Ekram’s vehicle and Jiaul Haque Bappi was the first to stab Ekram with a knife. During the attack, Abid and Ruti Sohel shot Ekram through the broken window; while Jihad ordered another young man to set the vehicle ablaze by taking kerosene from a nearby shop.
Following the attack, Jihad asked Anik to call his uncle Minar – a local BNP leader – on the phone. Getting the call, Minar asked his nephew if Ekram was dead, to which Anik replied that the upazila chairman had been killed.
On the other hand, Helaluddin, who gave shelter to Abid, said in his statement that Shipon and Sifat were his childhood friends and on the day of incident they had called him about coming to his home, and eventually reached there at 4am the following day.
The court of Senior Judicial Magistrate Khairul Amin also placed Jubo League Leader Bappi on a five-day remand, after the investigation officer placed him before the court.
Paritosh Gosh, police superintendent of Feni, told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday that they were getting many new names and data from the arrestees. The police were analysing the statements and information, and taking action only after getting confirmation about it, he added.
So far, 22 people have been arrested in connection with the killing of Ekram.
Meanwhile, Nusrat Jahan, wife of BNP leader Minar yesterday claimed that her husband had no involvement in the murder of the Fulgazi chairman. Speaking at a press briefing, she said Minar was ill and police had arrested him on “baseless” information.
Nusrat also claimed that the main accused in the case Jahangir Mohammad Adel was not being arrested as he was now under the shelter of local MP Nizam Uddin Hazari.
Fulgazi upazila Awami League has called a dawn-to-dusk hartal on Monday at Fulgazi, demanding punishment of Ekram’s killers, said secretary of Awami League’s Fulgazi upazila unit, Abdul Alim.
