Hatia union parishad election candidate hacked dead

A councilor candidate in the coming election to Char Ishwar union parishad in Hatia upazila of Noakhali was hacked to death early Thursday.

Councilor candidate Rabindra Chandra Das, 45, from ward no. 3 of the union was killed near the gate of the house of Azad, incumbent chairman of Char Ishwar union, at Nanda Road of the union around 2:00 am Thursday.

Police, however, could not make any arrest as of 10:00 am today.

Rabindra Chandra Das was the vice-president of Hatia upazila unit Swechhasebok League and a member of the upazila unit Awami League executive committee.

Witness Al Amin, Hatia upazila unit Sramik League president, said Rabindra Chandra Das and he were going to Ochhkhali of the upazila sadar from the union’s Banglabazar by a motorcycle around 2:00 am. There were four more people on two motorcycles behind them. A gang of miscreants opened fire, aiming at their motorcycle when they reached near the old house of Char Ishwar union’s chairman Abdul Halim Azad, he added.

Al Amin claimed that he saw Azad chairman’s son Md Omi, nephew Md Sohel, and robbers Rahim and Nazim in the light from the motorcycle.

He further said that he tried to flee the spot when the miscreants attacked Rabindra. The four people accompanying them on two motorcycles behind also fled the spot hearing gunshots.

Speaking to Prothom Alo, Char Ishwar union parishad chairman Abdul Halim Azad said he has been in Dhaka from yesterday. I was informed in the morning that miscreants killed UP member Rabindra Chandra Das and left the body body at the door of his old house, he said.

Claiming that none of his people were involved with the incident, the chairman said, “Some people might have done this to create a chaos and benefit from it before the 21 June UP election.”

He also demanded neutral investigation into the murder.

Hatia police station officer-in-charge Abul Kahir said they recovered the body of Rabindra Chandra Das and that it the right arm from the elbow. The right ankle was also mutilated, he said.

Police raided at the house of chairman Azad at night but no one was arrested, he added.