Sohag murder: Police identify 3 suspects from CCTV footage
Police have identified three men in the CCTV footage of the brutal killing of scrap trader Lal Chand alias Sohag with concrete chunks in Old Dhaka.
One has been arrested and two others are on the run, an official of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police's Lalbagh Division told The Daily Star yesterday.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. In a further development, law enforcers held two more suspects, Sajib Bepari, 27, and Rajib Bepari, 25, from Netrakona early yesterday.
So far, seven people have been detained in connection with the murder, said Jasim Uddin, deputy commissioner of Lalbagh Division Police.
Meanwhile, a Dhaka court yesterday placed two arrestees, Mohammad Alamgir and Monir alias "Chhoto" Monir, on a four-day remand.
Of them, Monir is seen beating Sohag with concrete chunks in the footage, according to investigators.
The killing took place in broad daylight on Wednesday, when Sohag was forcibly dragged out of his shop in Old Dhaka and beaten to death with concrete blocks near the gate of Mitford Hospital.
Sohag's sister filed a murder case against 19 people with Kotwali Police Station. Police collected surveillance footage from the area and launched drives, leading to multiple arrests.
Home Adviser Lt Gen (retd) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury yesterday said the government was taking the murder with utmost seriousness. Out of the accused, seven have already been detained.
If more are found involved during investigation, they will also be brought under the law, he said.
"No one is being or will be spared on the basis of political or any other identity," he told reporters at the Secretariat.
The adviser said a thorough investigation would be carried out to determine whether there was any negligence on the part of the administration or law enforcement agencies in the incident.
Meanwhile, a writ petition was filed with the High Court yesterday, seeking its directive on the government to form a judicial commission to probe the killing of Sohag.
Supreme Court lawyer Eunus Ali Akond submitted the petition as a public interest litigation, praying to the High Court to order the authorities concerned to arrest those responsible for the killing and to provide adequate compensation to the victim's family.
In another development, Ansar Director General Major General Abdul Motaleb Sazzad Mahmud yesterday said that no members of his force were responsible for the murder.
Speaking to reporters at the Ansar headquarters, he said that no Ansar personnel were on duty at the scene during the time of the incident. He clarified that Ansar members work in shifts, and no one was assigned at the gate after 2:00pm when the murder took place.
Students of Sir Salimullah Medical College Hospital (Mitford Hospital) declared a "shutdown" yesterday, protesting lax campus security following Sohag's murder nearby.
At a rally on the campus, they demanded immediate action, warning of continued class boycotts unless steps are taken.
Intern doctors also observed a one-day work stoppage in protest of the prevailing security concerns.
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