A Bangladeshi expatriate from Shariatpur was shot dead at his business establishment in Cape Town, South Africa, on Wednesday night, allegedly after refusing to pay extortion money demanded by a local criminal group.
The victim, identified as Maruf Bepari from Damudya upazila, was killed around 10pm in the Booster area of Cape Town. His family in Bangladesh was informed of his death on Thursday morning.
Maruf was the son of the late Abdus Sobhan Bepari of West Sidya village under Ward No 4 of Sidya Union. He is survived by three children.
According to family members and local residents, Maruf had been living in South Africa for more than 14 years, running a business to support his family.
Relatives and fellow Bangladeshi expatriates alleged that a local criminal group had been demanding 500 South African rand a month from Maruf to allow him to operate his business in the Booster area.
A dispute recently arose over the extortion payments, which his family believes led to the fatal shooting.
According to media, Maruf had operated his shop for only one month over the past three months, keeping it closed for the remaining two months. Consequently, Maruf offered to pay the extortion fee for only one month, which led to an altercation with the group. At one stage, members of the group took 500 Rand and left, but returned a short while later and shot Maruf dead.
Maruf’s body is currently kept at a hospital in South Africa. Expressing deep grief, his family and relatives have urged the Bangladesh government to take immediate steps to assist in repatriating his body home as quickly as possible.
