Fahim Saleh murder: NY police detain a suspect

Police in New York has detained a person in connection with the murder and dismemberment of Bangladeshi-American millionaire tech entrepreneur Fahim Saleh in Manhattan.

The man, detained on Thursday (local time) has not yet been shown arrested formally.

NYPD (New York Police Department) sources said the detained person was taken to a hospital for mental assessment.

Police suspects Fahim Saleh was killed over any business deal.

Fahim, a tech entrepreneur and co-founder of Bangladeshi ride sharing app, Pathao, was found dismembered in his luxurious condo in New York city of the USA on Tuesday.

On the next day, it was learned that police identified a person allegedly involved with the murder from CCTV footages.

After detaining the person on Thursday, he was talking incoherently during quizzing.

A source said the professional killers sometimes act like mentally ill persons after their detention to get benefit in the trial.

An NYPD official, working in the crime department, said according to protocol a detained person has to be taken to a psychiatrist for mental assessment. After that, police can inform about the arrest formally if they become sure of his involvement with the crime through quizzing. The process takes some time.

The detained person was known to Fahim and would work with him, said Eyewitness News Channel 7 in New York quoting police sources.

An official of NYPD told Prothom Alo that the killer was a professional. That’s why he was acting like a mentally ill person.

Global media outlets have been covering this gruesome killing mentioning Fahim Saleh a millionaire CEO. US media outlets have been publishing stories mentioning him as a Bangladeshi migrant while the NYPD has been considering this a high-profile case.

The family of Fahim Saleh urged NYPD to find the "evil hitman" who dismembered him and fled the bloody scene. They also requested all newsmen to respect the privacy of Fahim Saleh at this critical time, in a statement issued on 16 July.

The family, in the statement, also asked the newsmen not to contact them or Fahim’s relatives and friends.

"Fahim is more than what you are reading. He is so much more. His brilliant and innovative mind took everyone who was a part of his world on a journey and he made sure never to leave anyone behind.

"Fahim found success at an early age and built on it year after year, while remaining grounded and committed to helping others.

"No matter what he did, he did it while thinking of the greater good and his family. His parents and his sisters were his light and he was theirs.

"There are no words or actions to provide any of us comfort except the capture of the person who exhibited nothing short of evil upon our loved one."

The hitman was damn professional while committing the grisly murder and intended to remove all the evidences from the scene so that it looks like nothing happened there, police suspect.

The surveillance video from the building's lobby showed the suspected hitman entering the elevator with Saleh around 1:40pm on Monday.

The killer was reportedly dressed in all black and carried a bag.

The CCTV footage showed Saleh using a key fob to access the seventh floor as the suspect pretended to press a button for another level, sources said.

Both Saleh and the suspect reportedly exchanged words inside the elevator.

When the young CEO stepped out of the elevator and got into his apartment, the man in black followed him.

The last moment recorded before the doors close is the killer zapping the victim with a Taser.

In the floorplan, an egress staircase is seen across from the elevator in which Fahim Saleh and the hitman were.

Footage appeared to show the 33-year-old tech boss being attacked when he got off the elevator, which opens up directly into his apartment.

Saleh's sister found his dismembered body inside his condo around 3:30pm Tuesday after she hadn't heard from him for around a day.

* The report has been rewritten in English by Shameem Reza