Investigators keep mum on probe status

Six days into the killing of Japanese national Kunio Hoshi, investigators are keeping mum about any development in the probe.

Police continued to avoid journalists yesterday, the second day of the two suspects' 10-day remand. Information gleaned from the duo could not be known as Rezaul Karim, officer-in-charge of Kaunia Police Station, didn't answer phone calls.

The phone of Mohammad Abdur Razzaq, district superintendent of police, was switched off. His office premises were put off-limits to journalists. 

DIG Humayun Kabir of Rangpur police and Mamunur Rashid, sub-inspector of Kaunia Police Station and also investigating officer of the case, didn't return calls.

Police on Tuesday remanded the two suspects -- Rashedun Nabi Khan Biplob and Humayun Kabir Hira -- in the murder case filed on Sunday with the police station against three unidentified killers.

Hoshi was shot dead on Saturday morning, five days after an Italian aid worker was gunned down in a similar attack in Dhaka.

The murders caught the government off-guard, with a US-based organisation monitoring Jihadi activities claiming that militant outfit Islamic State took credit for the killings.   

HOSPITAL RELEASES ZAKARIYA

Zakariya Bala, who sheltered Hoshi in his Munsipara house, was released from Rangpur Medical College Hospital on Tuesday after receiving treatment under police custody for a cardiac condition.

Police detained the 55-year-old on Saturday for interrogation. He suffered a heart attack around 2:30pm that day and was admitted to the hospital within about an hour, said Prof Badrul Alam of cardiology department.

Zakariya's wife Ayesha Bala has been missing since his husband was released from the hospital. Her cell phone was found switched off, said Zakariya's niece Afika Akhter. “I only think about the nine-year-old son of my uncle and aunt.”

Visiting the detainee's house yesterday morning, reporters found it was still guarded by four cops.

Police allowed newsmen in the house to meet Ayesha's mother only in their presence. Anik, the third-grader son of Zakariya, was there, but he seemed to be afraid of police and would not talk to journalists.

Like Zakariya, three other people were detained immediately after the murder for “interrogation”. The three are Humayun Kabir Hira, a friend of Hoshi; Murad Ali and Monnaf Hossain.

The murder took place in front of Murad's house. Monnaf used to take Hoshi to his project by pulling a rickshaw.

Police later showed Hira as an accused in the case and remanded him along with Biplob. But law enforcers kept mum about Murad and Monnaf.

At a meeting with top police officials in Rangpur, the visiting four-member Japanese investigation team yesterday discussed harassment of the ruling party's political opponents over the case. The team collected viscera samples of the deceased from the Rangpur Medical College morgue, said police sources.

The team also met the government prosecutor at a local court to learn about the prosecution process.