Clueless murder
Mystery of murder unravelled from a cement-sealed drum
Armed with the driver's testimony, the PBI secured another remand for Rafiqul. During interrogation, he broke down and confessed to the murder, PBI officials said.
Hekmat Ali of Narayanganj had been missing for three months. Suspicion initially fell upon his distant nephew, Rafiqul Islam, alias Sabuj. The police arrested him and the court placed him on remand twice, but no breakthrough could be extracted from him.
More than two months later, the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) took over the case. Investigators were confronted with a critical question: why had Rafiqul contacted a Nasimon (motorised three-wheeler) driver over the phone on the very night Hekmat vanished?
Locating the driver brought the story of a specific oil drum to light for the first time. The driver recalled that upon arriving at Rafiqul's house at dawn, he saw Rafiqul, his two brothers, and their father waiting with a heavy drum. After loading the drum onto the vehicle and transporting it a short distance, he was abruptly dismissed.
With this disclosure, a fresh investigation centered entirely around the mysterious drum.
Armed with the driver's testimony, the PBI secured another remand for Rafiqul. During interrogation, he broke down and confessed to the murder, PBI officials said. He disclosed that after killing Hekmat, they stuffed the body inside a drum, sealed it with poured cement, and dumped it into a commercial fish farm pond.
Divers deployed to the location pointed out by Rafiqul retrieved the drum from the pond bed. When cut open, Hekmat’s body was discovered inside, exposing a calculated plot of murder and body disposal that had been masked as a disappearance.
Hekmat had left his home in Kaladi, Rupganj, on 4 April 2020 and never returned. Failing to trace him, his wife, Roksana Begum, filed a case with Rupganj police station 10 days later, on 14 April.
Hekmat had left his home in Kaladi, Rupganj, on 4 April 2020 and never returned. Failing to trace him, his wife, Roksana Begum, filed a case with Rupganj police station 10 days later, on 14 April.
Following the local police’s failure to crack the case, the PBI was tasked with the investigation on 15 June that year. On 30 June, Rafiqul was taken into a two-day police remand via court order, culminating in the recovery of Hekmat’s body on 2 July.
Reflecting on solving the “clueless” case, PBI Chief and Additional Inspector General of Police Mostafa Kamal told Prothom Alo that the perpetrators believed they could erase all traces of the crime by concealing the body. However, through mobile phone records, witness testimonies, and meticulous investigation, the authorities managed to retrieve the body and reconstruct the entire assassination plot.
The murder and dispersal
The PBI investigation revealed that Rafiqul harbored deep-seated business and familial disputes with Hekmat. Driven by this animosity, Rafiqul lured Hekmat to his residence in the Kushabo area, where the murder was carried out.
Hekmat ran a motor parts business in the Bhulta area of Rupganj, Narayanganj, where his distant nephew, Rafiqul Islam, served as the manager.
Detailing their grievances, investigators noted that Rafiqul had previously invested capital into Hekmat's business. However, disputes gradually emerged regarding profit shares, operational control, and various family matters. Furthermore, Rafiqul blamed Hekmat for the breakdown of several of his marriage proposals.
The PBI investigation revealed that Rafiqul harbored deep-seated business and familial disputes with Hekmat. Driven by this animosity, Rafiqul lured Hekmat to his residence in the Kushabo area, where the murder was carried out.
According to investigators, these grievances led Rafiqul to mastermind Hekmat's murder. His two brothers, Mahfuzur Rahman and Mamun, along with their father, Yakub Hossain, subsequently joined the conspiracy.
In accordance with the plan, Rafiqul called Hekmat on the night of 3 April 2020, inviting him to their house the following day under the pretext of arranging a formal meeting with a prospective bride. Hekmat arrived at Rafiqul’s residence on the morning of 4 April. After lunch, he was escorted to a room to rest.
The investigation established that once Hekmat fell asleep, he was strangled to death with a traditional scarf (gamcha). To dispose of the evidence, the body was crammed into an empty drum, which was then filled with cement to seal it completely. The cement used had been stored at the house for ongoing construction work.
Investigators discovered that Rafiqul called the vehicle driver, Md. Shanto Miah, at midnight on 4 April. According to Shanto Miah, he was requested to arrive at dawn on 5 April to transport a drum to a shop. Reaching Rafiqul's house at around 6:30 am, he observed Rafiqul, his two brothers, and their father waiting with a massive drum, which the four men jointly lifted onto the vehicle.
The perpetrators believed they could erase all traces of the crime by concealing the body. However, through mobile phone records, witness testimonies, and meticulous investigation, the authorities managed to retrieve the body and reconstruct the entire assassination plot.
Rafiqul then boarded the vehicle alongside Shanto Miah. After travelling a short distance, the drum was unloaded near a commercial fish enclosure (gher) in front of the Kushabo-Litchi Factory in Rupganj. Once the drum was unloaded from the vehicle, Shanto Miah was paid his fare and instructed to leave immediately.
Shanto Miah maintained that he had no knowledge of what was hidden inside the container.
Recovery of the body
Following Shanto Miah's revelation, the PBI placed Rafiqul under a fresh remand. Acting on information gleaned from his interrogation, a PBI team accompanied by expert divers reached the Kushabo area on 2 July 2020.
A search commenced in the waters of the fish farm, and after a brief effort, divers located a heavy drum resting on the pond floor. It was subsequently hauled to the surface. Investigators present noted that the lid of the drum was tightly secured, with visible layers of cement coated on the exterior.
The authorities decided to cut the container open. Upon slicing through the metallic casing and removing the lid, Hekmat's body was found inside. The mystery behind the trader's three-month disappearance was resolved that day, confirming he had been murdered.
Investigating officers stated that the perpetrators had encased the body in cement inside the drum specifically to prevent it from floating to the surface, hoping it would remain undetected indefinitely.
PBI officials added that a court delivered its verdict in the Hekmat murder case last February, sentencing Rafiqul Islam to death and awarding his brother, Mahfuzur Rahman, a five-year prison sentence.