Police have arrested five suspects and recovered firearms and ammunition used in the killing of Rakibul Islam near the central Shaheed Minar in Dhaka.
The arrests were made jointly by Shahbagh Police Station and the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) Unit.The suspects taken into custody are Md Golam Rasul Shihab, Md Rafin Sheikh, Shahariar Nazim Joy, Md Sagar Fakir, and Salahuddin Sagar, also known as Saka.
According to police, the incident occurred around 8:30pm on Sunday when Rakibul Islam was parking his motorcycle on the west side of Shaheed Minar. Five to six unidentified attackers approached him from behind, fired multiple shots, and then repeatedly struck him with sharp weapons across his body.
Passersby rushed the critically injured victim to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead. A murder case was subsequently registered with Shahbagh Police Station.
Police arrested Md Golam Rasul Shihab on the same night with help from local witnesses. Based on his information, Md Rafin Sheikh and Shahariar Nazim Joy were apprehended in subsequent raids in Lalmonirhat, while Md Sagar Fakir was arrested from Mirzaganj in Patuakhali.
Acting on secret intelligence, CTTC arrested Salahuddin Sagar alias Saka around 3am on Wednesday in Kashiani, Gopalganj, recovering a pistol and four bullets linked to the murder.
Authorities say Saka is a top criminal in the Khulna region and the mastermind of a gang of hired killers, which has been involved in organised crime for years.
Police said legal action is underway against all five suspects, and operations continue to apprehend other individuals involved in the incident.
