BNP leader Kamrul’s murder: Investigation stumbles at outset, mobile phone in video led to killer

The murder took place in plain sight in the capital, and CCTV footage was available. Yet the killers could not initially be identified. Informants were deployed, but to no avail. Investigators then began collecting and analysing CCTV footage from several kilometres around the scene. Even then, the perpetrators remained unidentified, until a police officer’s attention was drawn to a particular frame in which the back of a mobile phone held by a suspect was visible.

That detail became the turning point. Investigators began tracing who in that area had been using that specific brand and model of phone at the time. The arrest of one such individual eventually unravelled the mystery behind the killing of Kamrul Ahsan Sadhan, joint convener of the Gulshan thana unit of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).

It later emerged that the murder stemmed from conflicts over control of internet businesses, extortion in local markets, territorial dominance, and influence in the Badda and Gulshan areas.

Mohammad Nasirul Islam, Joint Commissioner of the Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), who supervised the investigation, told Prothom Alo, “This murder was completely without leads. It was through the ingenuity of a DB officer that we were able to solve it.”

On the night of 25 May 2025, at around 10:00 pm, Kamrul Ahsan Sadhan was sitting with friends at a tea stall in Gudaraghat of Madhya Badda. Suddenly, two armed youths opened fire on him, killing him before fleeing the scene.

Kamrul’s wife, Dilruba Akter, filed a case with Badda police station. The DB later took over the investigation.

Immediately after the murder, police collected CCTV footage from nearby cameras, but it failed to identify the assailants. Multiple DB teams then gathered and analysed footage from a wider radius, spanning several kilometres.

A DB officer said that in one clip, two shooters were seen along with two other individuals. However, that alone was insufficient to identify the killers. It was then that an officer noticed the mobile phone in one suspect’s hand, with its back clearly visible, providing clues about its brand and model.

Based on this, investigators compiled a list of individuals in the area who had used that model of phone at the relevant time. From this list, a suspect was eventually identified. His arrest led to the full revelation of the murder.

Mahitul Islam, Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) of DB’s Gulshan Division, who led the investigation, said the shooters had deliberately avoided carrying mobile phones to prevent identification. Moreover, the four individuals involved in the killing mission had no prior criminal records, making the investigation particularly challenging.

The man arrested through the mobile phone lead was identified as Mizanur Rahman Mim, a safety officer at Dhaka Mass Transit Company.

According to Mahitul Islam, after completing the murder, Mizanur discarded the phone in a canal in Badda.

More than a month later, on 8 July 2025, he was arrested in Bhairab, Kishoreganj. He later confessed in court. Eight days after his arrest, on 12 July, Hridoy Chowdhury was detained from Nagarkanda in Faridpur. Four days later, on 16 July, Sahed Hossain Munna was arrested from Kolmakanda in Netrokona.

According to the police, Hridoy and Munna were the shooters, while Mizanur and another individual monitored the situation at the scene. A fourth person, Zahid Ahmed, has been identified but remains at large.

According to DB sources, the murder was orchestrated by listed criminal Mehedi Hasan, who is currently in the United States. The murder was carried out on his orders amid disputes over internet business control, market extortion, and territorial dominance in Badda and Gulshan.

DB officer Mahitul Islam said Hridoy and Munna were hired killers, while Mizanur and Zahid, both residents of Badda, were close associates of Mehedi. It was through Zahid that the shooters were recruited.

Hridoy reportedly has no fixed occupation, while Munna works as a driver’s assistant. Each was paid Tk 30,000 following the murder.

DB joint commissioner Nasirul Islam stated that the investigation revealed the involvement of a top criminal fugitive abroad.

Hridoy Chowdhury has already given a statement in court.

Quoting his statement, a DB officer said the four men had biryani at Noyon Biryani House near Gulshan Link Road before carrying out the murder. After the killing, they regrouped at Gudaraghat, deposited the arms at Zahid’s residence in Satarkul, and then went into hiding.

Nasirul Islam told Prothom Alo last week that the investigation would be concluded soon, and a charge sheet would be submitted to the court.