Banani police have arrested three people and solved the mystery surrounding the murder of an unidentified man whose body was recovered from the Dhaka Elevated Expressway in the Banani police station area.
Deputy Commissioner of the Media and Public Relations Division, Md Akter Hossain, confirmed the information on Sunday.
The arrested individuals are bus driver Sohel Rana, 41; supervisor Saju alias Limon, 26; and helper Md Monir Hossain, 19.
According to police, on the morning of September 4, they received information that the body of an unidentified man was lying on the airport-bound section of the Elevated Expressway near the stadium. Banani police immediately went to the scene and recovered the body.
The victim’s face and both hands were wrapped with Scotch tape, while there were dark marks around his neck. After completing the initial examination of the body, police sent it to Dhaka Medical College Hospital for an autopsy.
Using the victim’s fingerprints and information technology, police identified him as Ismail Hossain, 49. Later, family members went to the police station and identified him from photographs of the body. Following the incident, the victim’s son filed a case with Banani Police Station against unidentified individuals.
During the investigation, police learned that Ismail had left his village in Jamalpur for Kashimpur in Gazipur carrying around Tk5 lakh, which he had received from selling land. His son Hasan was waiting for his father at the Jirani bus stand but found that his mobile phone was switched off.
Following the incident, Banani police collected and reviewed CCTV footage from various locations along the Elevated Expressway. After analyzing the footage, police became suspicious of the movements of a passenger bus and identified the vehicle. They subsequently conducted raids in Jamalpur and other areas.
During the operation, police seized a passenger bus named Raj Classic from the Mohakhali Bus Terminal and arrested its supervisor, Saju alias Limon, and helper Md Monir Hossain. In a separate operation, police later arrested driver Sohel Rana.
During preliminary interrogation, the arrested individuals reportedly confessed to their involvement in the murder. They told investigators that at around 4:30am on September 4, Ismail boarded the bus as a passenger from the Dighpaith bus stand in Jamalpur. Other passengers continued to board and leave the bus at different locations.
At one point, supervisor Saju alias Limon asked Ismail to pay the fare. Ismail took money from the fold of his lungi and paid the fare. The supervisor then suspected that Ismail was carrying more money. He informed driver Sohel Rana, who also said that Ismail appeared to have additional cash. The three then allegedly planned to take the money from him.
According to the plan, Ismail was not allowed to get off the bus at the Chandra bus stand, while the other passengers were dropped off at various locations in Gazipur. Later, the supervisor and helper allegedly tied Ismail’s hands with Scotch tape and covered his nose and mouth with the tape. They then wrapped a towel around his neck and strangled him to death.
The suspects subsequently transported the body to Dhaka on the bus. After entering the Elevated Expressway through the Airport area, they got off at Banani, passed through Kakoli intersection, and then re-entered the Elevated Expressway. They later dumped Ismail’s body between pillars 179 and 180 on the Kakoli-to-Kuril section of the expressway before driving through Kuril Bishwaroad to the Mohakhali Bus Terminal.
Police seized the Raj Classic bus allegedly used in the murder, two towels, two bloodstained bus seat covers, and a feature mobile phone.
Police said Saju alias Limon has two previous robbery cases against him. Sohel has two robbery cases, two drug-related cases, and two arrest warrants pending against him.
