Two bus staff members have confessed to their involvement in the death of Ismail Hossain, whose body was recovered from the Dhaka Elevated Expressway, while a court has granted four days’ remand to the bus driver in the case.
The accused who gave confessional statements are bus supervisor Saju Laskar and bus assistant Mahbub Alam Monir.
On Sunday, separate Dhaka metropolitan magistrate courts recorded their statements under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and ordered them to be sent to jail.
The three accused – Saju Laskar, Monir and bus driver Sohel Rana -were produced before the Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court on Sunday.
Saju and Monir voluntarily agreed to give confessional statements. Banani Police Station Sub-Inspector and investigating officer Nazrul Islam Talukder subsequently sought permission to record their statements under Section 164.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Albiruni Mir recorded Saju’s statement, while Metropolitan Magistrate Md Siddiq Azad recorded Monir’s statement.
Meanwhile, the investigating officer sought seven days’ remand for Sohel Rana for questioning.
After a hearing, Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Ariful Islam granted him four days’ remand.
According to the case statement, Ismail Hossain left Jamalpur around 4:30am on 4 September to return to his home in Gazipur.
He boarded a bus carrying Tk5 lakh in cash from the sale of land at his village home, along with various food items.
After learning that his father was on his way, Ismail’s son Md Hasan waited for him at Jirani bus stand in Gazipur.
When Ismail did not arrive and his mobile phone was found switched off, Hasan became worried. He waited until around 10am before returning home.
Around noon, Banani Police Station informed their neighbour Montu that Ismail’s body had been recovered. Hasan later identified the body from photographs.
The case statement said Ismail had injury marks on his body. His nose, head and right wrist were found wrapped in white tape.
Hasan filed a murder case with Banani Police Station over his father’s death.
Investigators are questioning the three accused and examining their statements to determine the circumstances surrounding the killing and recover the Tk 5 lakh and other belongings Ismail was carrying.
