A man was hacked to death in Char Fasson upazila of Bhola on Saturday night. The incident occurred around 10:00 pm at Kolerhat Road intersection in Ward No. 5 of Rasulpur union that falls under the jurisdiction of Shashibhushan police station.
The deceased, Abdur Rahim, 45, was formerly involved with the Bangladesh Awami League’s youth wing, Jubo League. According to family members, his son had been beaten and seriously injured the previous day.
Local residents alleged that those involved in the killing are followers of Nurul Islam (Nayan), the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) candidate who won the Bhola-4 (Char Fasson and Monpura) constituency in the just concluded 13th parliamentary election.
Background and allegations
Slain Abdur Rahim served as convener of the ward unit of Jubo League. His organisational identity was confirmed to Prothom Alo by Md Faruk Hossain, convener of Shashibhushan Thana Jubo League, though he declined to comment on the murder.
A local union parishad member, Abul Kashem, also said that Rahim had been involved in Awami League politics.
Police and local sources said most members of Rahim’s family are aligned with the BNP and are followers of former MP and BNP chairman’s adviser Nazim Uddin (Alam). However, Nazim Uddin did not receive a party nomination in the latest election; the seat was instead won by Nurul Islam. Local BNP politics is reportedly divided between rival factions.
Abdur Rahim’s brother Mofizul Islam said, Everyone in our family supports the BNP. The Awami League even filed 17 lawsuits against me. However, my younger brother Abdur Rahim favoured the Awami League but was not politically active. He worked as a day labourer, engaged in earth-cutting and livestock rearing.”
According to relatives of the victim and local residents, on the two nights preceding the election, several local BNP activists, including Amzad Hossain, Billal Hossain and Samrat, allegedly slaughtered and consumed two of Rahim’s goats by force. They were known as supporters of BNP nominated candidate for Bhola-4 (Charfasson and Monpura) constituency, Nurul Islam (Nayan). When Rahim protested the incidents, his son Amir Hossain was severely beaten on Friday night, sustaining fractures to his facial bones and jaw. He was first taken to a local hospital and later referred to Dhaka for advanced treatment.
Family members alleged that after Abdur Rahim verbally confronted the “goat-eaters” on Saturday, he was attacked later that night.
The attack
Rahim’s daughter, Bibi Rahima, told journalists that her father had gone to a nearby tea stall at Kolerhat Road around 10:00 pm and was returning home when he was attacked.
She alleged that assailants struck him twice across the neck and shoulders and once on the forehead. Hearing his cries, family members rushed to the scene.
Bibi Rahima claimed to have seen Billal Hossain fleeing along a newly constructed road, leaving her father in roadside water hyacinths. Rahim was taken to Char Fasson Hospital, where physicians declared him dead.
Demanding justice, Bibi Rahima named Amzad Hossain, Billal Hossain and Samrat as the killers and alleged they were involved in drug trading. She claimed her father consumed drugs but was not a dealer.
Local BNP’s response and police statement
Local BNP leaders denied any political link to the incident, asserting that the killing stemmed from a dispute over drug dealings rather than party rivalry.
Kamal Golzar, former office secretary of Char Fasson Upazila unit BNP, told Prothom Alo that the matter was an internal conflict over drug sales and unrelated to party politics.
Shashibhushan police station officer-in-charge Fakhrul Islam said Rahim had previously been involved in Awami League politics and that the murder was centred on disputes over goats and drug transactions.
He further said that the body has been sent for post-mortem examination. The family is preparing to file a case following the burial.