Five killed in Sylhet in 27 days, raising security concerns

Five people have been killed in Sylhet city in the past 27 days, including three members of the same family in a single incident, raising concerns over the city’s law and order situation.

The latest victim was businessman Shahabuddin, who was hacked to death near his home in the city’s Islamabad area on Sunday night.

The five killings took place between 27 July and 23 August. On Saturday, 22 August, Commerce Minister Khandakar Abdul Muktadir, who is also a lawmaker from Sylhet city, held a meeting at the office of the Sylhet Metropolitan Police commissioner.

Speaking to journalists after the meeting, the minister said, “More important than how the law and order situation in Sylhet is, is how we want it to be.” He said the government wanted to see an end to drugs, online gambling and the activities of teenage gangs in Sylhet.

On the night of 27 July, teenager Rifat Ahmed was stabbed to death on the Kazirbazar Bridge following a dispute over a football match.

Then, on 12 August, businessman Abdus Sattar, his wife Suraiya Begum and their domestic help Tahmina were found murdered in a house in the Mitali Residential Area of Raynagar. Sattar was a former director of the Sylhet Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The latest killing took place between 11:00 pm and 11:30 pm on Sunday in the city’s Islamabad area, where Shahabuddin, a businessman, was allegedly attacked and left critically injured. Relatives and locals took him to Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital, where doctors declared him dead.

Shahabuddin, a resident of Bijoy Bari in Charkhai of Beanibazar upazila, had moved with his family to Shahporan Islamabad around 2020. He owned a shop beside the main entrance to the shrine of Shahporan.

According to his relatives, Shahabuddin was walking home from his shop on Sunday night when attackers intercepted him near his house and hacked him repeatedly with sharp weapons. He suffered multiple slash wounds to his neck and throat.

His younger son Redwan Ahmed said a local man called him at night and told him that his father had been detained by someone. He later went to the scene and found his father lying there covered in blood.

Shahabuddin had no known dispute with anyone, said his nephew Alamin Juel. He said Shahabuddin usually walked to and from his shop, about half a kilometre from his home. He also ruled out robbery as a motive, saying the iPhone and around Tk 10,000 that Shahabuddin had with him were untouched.

Sylhet Metropolitan Police Additional Deputy Commissioner (Media) Md Manzurul Alam told Prothom Alo that police were conducting regular patrols, operating mobile teams and gathering intelligence on criminals to maintain law and order in the city.

He urged people to seek legal assistance instead of becoming involved in disputes over personal, family, business or land matters.

Police have arrested a man named Babul Mia in connection with the triple murder in Raynagar. He has given a confessional statement under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

According to police, Babul entered the house with the intention of committing theft. After the domestic worker saw him, he allegedly killed her and subsequently killed the couple, according to his statement before the court.

In the Rifat Ahmed murder case, police arrested accused Juel Ahmed on 21 August, 25 days after the teenager was stabbed to death on Kazirbazar Bridge. He has been sent to jail.

Syeda Shirin Akhter, president of the Sylhet chapter of the Shushashoner Jonno Nagorik (SHUJAN), told Prothom Alo that five murders in such a short period had created a sense of insecurity among residents.

She said killings appeared to be increasing in Sylhet as well as other parts of the country, indicating a deterioration in the law and order situation. She called for increased activity by law enforcement agencies.