Police have reportedly arrested a ninth grader from Uttara, a key suspect in the death of 17-year-old Zubair Ahmed, who allegedly drowned in a shallow pond in the area on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Algerian national Abuubaida Kadir, a swimming instructor and friend of Zubair who claimed to have witnessed the teenager’s death, was also placed on a fresh remand yesterday.
Police also claimed that they were exploring new leads after finding text messages with questionable contents that Kadir used to send to teenage boys.
On condition of anonymity, a senior official of DMP’s Uttara Division, told the Dhaka Tribune that a student of class nine, who also lived in Uttara, was arrested yesterday while returning to Dhaka from Kishoreganj.
The suspect was now being interrogated, he added.
However, Uttara (east) police station Officer-in-Charge Sahadat Hossain Khan did not confirm that the arrest had been made.
A Dhaka court, on the other hand, placed prime suspect Kadir on a fresh four-day remand. Metropolitan Magistrate Jahangir Hossain issued the order after Uttara police Sub-Inspector Sheikh Rasel Kabir – also the investigation officer of the case – sought a fresh ten-day remand after a previous round of remand ended on Thursday.
Asked about the progress of the case, Md Iqbal Hossain, deputy commissioner of police in Uttara Division, said the police were trying to verify Kadir’s full background history as he was providing excessive information and giving contradictory statements as well.
Iqbal added that efforts were also on to identify the income sources of Kadir, who has reportedly been living in Bangladesh without any passport for the last 10 years.
Police also scanned the mobile phone of Kadir and found text messages sent to teenage boys in obnoxious language, the DC said adding that they suspected that Kadir enticed teenagers into water, especially swimming pools.
“We are waiting for the autopsy report as it may give us a clear picture of Zubair’s death and help us make a major breakthrough in the case,” Iqbal added.
Another senior police official who was involved in the investigation told the Dhaka Tribune that Kadir had entered Bangladesh illegally and often changed his living place. “We can understand that Kadir is hiding something, but are yet to solve the mystery,” the official added.
Shirajul Islam Khan, who played football with both the victim and the accused, claimed that although Zubair always played football in Kadir’s team, the two had played on opposing sides on the day of the incident.
Kadir’s attitude towards his team mates that day was not good and he frequently commented that everybody was being rude to him, Shiraj claimed.
Jamil Ahmed, elder brother of the victim, said his family was not accusing anyone of Zubair’s death but only wanted the truth to come out through a proper investigation, as it was not believable that his brother had drowned.
Meanwhile, hundreds of people including the friends of Zubair formed a human chain at Uttara’s La Bamba point yesterday demanding justice for the teenager’s death.
Dressed in black, the demonstrators gathered there following a call from a Facebook community page titled “Justice for Zubair Ahmed.”
They also observed a minute of silence for Zubair before offering prayers for his departed soul.
