Shots fired by MP's son

File photo of Bakhtiar Alam Rony, son of a ruling party lawmaker

Bakhtiar Alam Rony, son of Awami League lawmaker Pinu Khan, fired shots in a drunken state on early April 14, leading to the deaths of two innocent persons at New Eskaton in the capital, a witness told a Dhaka court yesterday.

Bakhtiar's friend Kamal Mahmood testified in a 

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate's Court that he along with Bakhtiar and two other friends were going to Dhanmondi from Moghbazar by a black Prado jeep of Bakhtiar's mother, said court sources.

There was a traffic jam on the road on the eve of Pahela Baishakh. As the vehicle got stuck in a tailback at New Eskaton, Bakhtiar, who was in a drunken stupor, became annoyed. He lowered a window of the vehicle, and shot five times from his firearm, Kamal said in his testimony.

Kamal, also business partner of Bakhtiar, said he didn't hear anyone scream or moan in pain after the shots were fired.

Magistrate Aminul Haque recorded Kamal's statement at his chamber after the witness was taken there by the investigation officer of the case filed in connection with the shooting and the killing of two persons.

Rickshaw-puller Abdul Hakim and auto-rickshaw driver Yakub Ali were critically wounded after shots were fired at random from the jeep around 1:30am on April 14.

Hakim died 16 hours after the shooting, while Yakub died on April 23.

Meanwhile, Bakhtiar's brother Ahmed Tanvir Alam appealed to the court for permission to take back their mother's black Prado jeep seized by police.

The court directed the investigation officer to report within five days on whether the vehicle should be handed back to its owner.

The Criminal Investigation Department of Police is carrying out a ballistic test to find out whether the bullets found inside the bodies of the two victims were fired from Bakhtiar's licensed pistol, said police.

Briefing reporters at the DMP Media Centre yesterday, DMP spokesperson Monirul Islam said, “If the ballistic report proves that the shots were fired from Bakhtiar's licensed pistol, we will ask the authorities concerned to cancel his firearm licence.”

An official of the Detective Branch of Police said they were looking into whether Bakhtiar had obtained the licence with valid documents.

Seeking anonymity, the official involved in the probe said they had collected a copy of the licence, and sent it to the authorities concerned on June 13 for scrutiny.

Bakhtiar obtained the licence in March 2010 from the Dhaka District Administration on grounds of “personal security”.