One accused claims trap, another cites love triangle: Police, RAB present different accounts

Police and Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) have arrested two people in connection with the murder of raw-material trader Ashraful Haque, 42, whose body, cut into 26 pieces, was recovered from the High Court intersection area in Dhaka.

The police and the RAB held separate press conferences today, Saturday, to formally present information on the arrest and details of the murder. It was learnt there that the two accused have given two different accounts in their confessional statements.

According to RAB, Ashraful had been lured into a trap as part of a plan to extort Tk 1 million (Tk 10 lakh), which ultimately led to his murder. Police, however, say the incident stemmed from a love triangle. The two suspects, Jorejul Islam, 39, and Shamima Akhter, 33, were arrested Friday evening in separate raids from Dhaka and Cumilla.

At 10:00 am, Lieutenant Colonel Fayezul Arefin, commanding officer of RAB-3, briefed the media at the RAB Media Centre in Karwan Bazar, presenting details of the murder based on accused Shamima’s statement.

Later, at 12:00 pm, Additional Commissioner Md Shafiqul Islam of the Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) briefed the media at the DMP Media Centre on Minto Road, citing the statement of “prime suspect” Jorejul Islam.

According to RAB, Shamima stated that she had been in a relationship with Jorejul for over a year. Together, they planned to trap Ashraful and extort Tk 1 million (Tk 10 lakh) from him. On 11 November, Jorejul and Ashraful travelled to Dhaka from Rangpur. The next day on 12 November, they, together with Shamima, rented a flat in Shonir Akhra area of the capital.

As part of the plan, Shamima allegedly gave Ashraful a drink mixed with sedatives. Then, compromising footage of Ashraful and Shamima was recorded on her phone to use for blackmail. RAB said the video has been recovered from her device.

RAB further added, when Ashraful was fully unconscious, Jorejul tied him up with rope and sealed his mouth with scotch tape. He then randomly assaulted him with a hammer. Ashraful died from suffocation due to the scotch tape glued to his mouth and from the excessive assault.

Next morning, on 13 November, the suspects purchased two plastic drums and other materials from a nearby market to get rid of the body. Jorejul then dismembered the body with a machete and packed the parts into the drums.

They transported the drums by CNG-run autorickshaw and dumped them near the High Court area. RAB says they have recovered Ashraful’s bloodstained white clothes (panjabi and pyjamas), along with the rope and tape used in the killing.

In their press briefing, additional commissioner of DB Md Shafiqul Islam saifd the murder basically stemmed from a love triangle. Jorejul, a Malaysia expatriate, had met Shamima more than three years ago on an app, and the two developed a relationship.

Around six weeks ago, Jorejul returned to Bangladesh. He and Shamima continued communicating over the phone even after he returned home. When Jorejul’s wife found out, she sought the help of his close friend Ashraful and gave him Shamima’s number. Then Ashraful also developed a relationship with Shamima. They used to communicate through video calls.

The DB official said that at one point, Shamima proposed to send Jorejul’s to Japan for Tk 1.4 million (Tk 14 lakh). Out of that, she promised to contribute Tk 700,000 (Tk 7 lakh) herself. To collect the money from Shamima and start the procedure of moving to Japan, Jorejul and Ashraful came to Dhaka on 11 November. After that, the three rented a flat in Shonir Akhra.

Eventually, Jorejul found out about the relationship between Ashraful and Shamima. An argument ensued among them. At one point when Shamima started screaming, Jorejul tied up Ashraful and struck him with a hammer. He then stuffed a scarf into Ashraful’s mouth and sealed it with scotch tape.

Ashraful died shortly afterwards. The two then dismembered the body, packed the parts in plastic drums, and dumped them near the High Court area.