A ward-level BNP youth leader was shot in broad daylight and killed by unidentified gunmen yesterday at the Hazaribagh area of the capital.
The deceased was Afzal Hossain Sattar alias Gal Kata Sattar, 37. The now raw-hide trader used to be the president of the Ward-48 Jatiyatabadi Juba Dal. He is a resident of Hazaribagh, a locality that is under Ward-48 of the Dhaka South City Corporation.
Afzal is also accused in at least 14 criminal cases under the Hazaribagh Police Station.
An eyewitness of the incident said Afzal was buying fish from hawkers around the Tin Matha Mosque – at a walking distance from his house – after saying Zuhr prayers. Some 5-6 armed men suddenly surrounded him, and fired several rounds. The youths fled on motorbikes before locals could react.
Police have confirmed the incident while the shooters could not be identified by the time this report was being filed.
Afzal’s son Ishtiaque and brother Saidul Haque rushed him to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) as soon as they were notified of the shooting. Doctors declared him dead around 2:30pm. The body has been sent to Dhaka Medical College morgue for autopsy.
According to sources at DMCH, one of the bullets hit him on the head while three others hit his waist and back.
Saidul told reporters at DMCH that as his brother was involved with BNP city unit’s politics, political opponents might have killed him.
“Some local Jubo League members were pressuring him to join their party. As he denied, they killed him,”he said.
Officer-in-Charge of Hazaribagh police station Kazi Moinul Islam said Afzal was a known criminal of Hazaribagh. He was accused in over 14 cases, 10 of which were murder charges.
Saidul claimed that all of the cases filed against him were “politically motivated.”
