Why have three names been dropped, three others accused: Jubo Dal president

Jubo Dal president Abdul Monayem Munna has alleged that the names of three accused persons provided by the victim’s family have been dropped and replaced with three new names in the brutal murder case of Lal Chand Sohag (39), a scrap trader killed in front of Mitford Hospital in the capital,. He has demanded to know the reason behind this.

He was speaking at a press briefing organised by Jatiyatabadi Jubo Dal, Chhatra Dal, and Swechchhasebak Dal at the BNP central office in Naya Paltan around 11:30 am today, Saturday.

Abdul Monayem Munna said, “We want to know who removed the names of the three accused and why, and who added three new names in their place. The incident took place on Wednesday, but it was widely reported only yesterday, Friday. Why was a two-day-old incident publicised only yesterday? Who was behind this delay? That needs to be investigated. We demand proper action in this regard.”

Quoting Bithi Akhter, niece of Lal Chand’s elder sister, Abdul Monayem Munna said, “The family has stated that the names of three individuals they identified as accused were removed from the case's FIR.” He added, “It is astonishing that those seen in the CCTV footage of the incident have not been made the prime accused in the case. The individuals who delivered the fatal blows have yet to be arrested. The reason behind this is incomprehensible.”

The Jubo Dal president further remarked that over 60 hours had passed since the incident, and despite the existence of clear evidence of the murder, the main accused had still not been arrested. He described this as a “major mystery.”

Acknowledging the party's responsibility in the murder of the businessman, Abdul Monayem Munna said that organisational action had already been taken. He added, “We have not denied responsibility. Whenever an incident occurs, we take organisational measures based on facts and evidence. Five individuals were expelled yesterday. In the past year alone, we have expelled thousands of leaders and activists. But has the administration taken proper legal or administrative action against them? If not, we want to know why.”

Jubo Dal president Abdul Monayem Munna stated that the country’s law and order situation has not improved as expected over the past year. He said, “Yesterday in Khulna, an expelled leader of the Jubo Dal was shot and had his tendons severed before being killed. There has been no noticeable outcry on social media or in the national media regarding this. In Chandpur, an imam was subjected to a barbaric attack with the intent to kill while delivering a khutbah. Tendon-severing killings have long been an integral part of the violent political practices of a particular organisation. That group was involved in both incidents yesterday. They were also directly involved in the recent unfortunate incident at KUET.”

Citing administrative failure as the reason behind the country’s deteriorating law and order situation, Abdul Monayem Munna said, “An opportunistic and politically motivated group has started selectively protesting and issuing offensive statements against the BNP and its affiliated organisations.”

Present at the press conference were Jubo Dal general secretary Nurul Islam, Chhatra Dal president Rakibul Islam, general secretary Nasir Uddin, Swechchhasebak Dal president SM Jilani, general secretary Rajib Ahsan, among others.