Police release 4 youths held as Rifat murder suspects

The police on Friday released the four young men who were detained on suspect of involvement in the murder of Rifat Sharif in Barguna town on Wednesday.

Police freed them as the law enforcement did not find any evidence of their involvement in the incident.

The police of Barishal Kotwali Model police station detained the four during a search for the killers at the Barishal launch terminal around 8:30pm on Thursday while they were preparing to leave the town for Dhaka by MV Manami.

Earlier, Barishal police station officer-in-charge (OC) Md Nurul Islam confirmed the detention of the four suspects to Prothom Alo on Thursday night.

The law enforcement did not disclose identities of the detained.

OC Nurul Islam also said the detained youths are residents of different areas of Barguna district.

Barguna police earlier arrested three youths in connection with the murder in broad daylight.

The arrested are—Chandan, Hasan and Nazmul. Barguna police station officer-in-charge Abir Mohammad Hossain said the arrested were named in the first information report (FIR) of the case filed in connection with the incident.

Rifat Sharif, 22, was hacked to death by a group of young men in front of his wife in the district town of Barguna on 26 June.

The entire incident was captured in a surveillance camera. It was seen in the footage that the attackers are hacking Rifat with machetes indiscriminately while his wife Ayesha Siddiqua was frantically trying to save him.

However, the attackers pushed her aside and continued to chop the youth until he soaked in blood.