A man was allegedly lured from his home and killed in Chakaria upazila of Cox’s Bazar. The incident, police believe, was subsequently portrayed as a robbery in an attempt to conceal the crime.
The incident took place on a road adjacent to the Shah Omar shrine in Kakara union of the upazila at approximately 8:30 pm on Saturday. Police have detained one suspect in connection with the killing.
The deceased, Mohammad Mujib, 45, was from Kasaipara area in Kakara union. Two other men were also injured in the same incident: Md Mozammel, 45, of the same locality, and Mohammad Khorshed, 40, from Lotoni area of the union. Both are currently receiving treatment at Chakaria upazila health complex.
The detained suspect, Mohammad Arif, 28, is from the same area. Police suspect that after killing Mujib, Arif told local residents that the group had fallen victim to a robbery. Inconsistencies in his account led to his detention.
Quoting family members and local residents, police said that Arif had invited Mujib out of his house on Saturday afternoon under the pretext of sharing iftar. The two reportedly went to the Shah Omar shrine to break their fast and returned at around 8:00 pm. On their way back, Mohammad Mujib was allegedly tied up and suffocated to death near the Sebakhola Dumchita Pond road. His body was then dumped in a nearby tobacco field by the roadside.
Police believe that several others along with Arif were involved in the incident. To stage the crime as a robbery, two passers-by were also reportedly taken hostage, tied up and left in the same tobacco field. Arif later informed local residents that they had been attacked by robbers and claimed that he had managed to escape and return to the area.
Local residents subsequently rescued Mujib and the two other men and took them to hospital, where physicians declared Mujib dead.
Chakaria police station officer-in-charge Mohammad Monir Hossain told Prothom Alo that an inquest report had been prepared. “There are no visible injury marks on the body. It is believed that Mujib was killed by suffocation,” he said.
The OC further stated, “Arif appears to have propagated the robbery story in an attempt to protect himself. There was a prior dispute between Arif and Mujib. During that altercation, one of Arif’s fingers was severed. It is suspected that, after restoring outwardly cordial relations, Arif carried out the killing in retaliation.”