Xulhaz-Tanoy murder: Charges pressed against eight

Xulhaz and Tonoy Murder
Xulhaz and Tonoy Murder

The Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) has pressed charges against eight people in a case filed over the killing of LGBT magazine editor Xulhaz Mannan and his friend Mahbub Rabbi Tonoy.

CTTC inspector Mohammad Manirul Islam submitted a charge-sheet against them on Thursday.

However, the matter came to light on Sunday.

The charged are sacked major Syed Mohammad Ziaul Haque, a suspected coordinator of banned militant outfit Ansar-Al-Islam, Akram Hossain, Sabbirul Haque Chowdhury, Md Zunaid Ahmad alias Maulana Zuned alias Zunaid, Mozammel Hossain alias Saimon, Md Arafat Rahman, Md Sheikh Abdullah and Asadullah.

Of the accused, four are on the run.

Besides, the CTTC unit sought exemption of eight people from the charges as allegations brought against three of them could not be proved while the full names and addresses of the five others could not be found.

Xulhaz Mannan, editor of LGBT magazine Roopbaan, and his friend MahbubTonoy, an activist of theatre group Lokonatya Dal, were hacked to death by some unidentified miscreants at an apartment in the capital's Kalabagan area on 25 April, 2016.

A case was filed with Kalabagan police station on the same day in this connection.

Primarily, Detective Branch (DB) investigated the double murder. Later, the CTTC unit took the onus of probe and arrested four suspects in connection with the killings.