A local leader of Jamaat-e-Islami’s youth wing was stabbed to death allegedly by a leader of the banned Chhatra League in Cox’s Bazar Sadar upazila on Monday night.
The incident occurred around 8pm at Natun Mahal Bazar in the Chowfaldandi union of Cox’s Bazar Sadar.
The deceased Amzad Hossain, 25, son of the late Nurul Kabir, was a Hafiz-e-Quran and served as the secretary of the Chowfaldandi Natun Mahal unit of Jamaat’s youth wing.
According to family sources, Amzad had lived in Saudi Arabia for several years. After recently returning to the country, he became active in Jamaat politics.
Eyewitnesses and locals alleged that Rafi, president of the banned Chhatra League’s Ward No. 3 unit in Chowfaldandi, carried out the attack along with his two accomplices over a long-standing land dispute.
Amzad sustained multiple stab wounds, two in the abdomen and one in the back, and died while being taken to Eidgaon Hospital.
Amzad’s elder brother Saddam Hossain, who is also a joint convener of Cox’s Bazar Sadar upazila unit Chhatra Dal, blamed the attack on “armed Chhatra League cadres” and alleged political targeting.
“The murder was premeditated,” Saddam said, accusing Rafi and his nephew Mofassel of leading the group that carried out the killing. He demanded immediate arrest and capital punishment for those involved.
Local Jamaat leaders, including Cox’s Bazar Sadar Jamaat Secretary Azizur Rahman, claimed that Rafi and his family had long used their political affiliation with the Awami League to engage in land grabbing and legal intimidation.
In response to the killing, Chhatra Dal, BNP, and affiliated organisations staged a protest march late Monday night in Cox’s Bazar city, demanding the arrest of the perpetrators within 24 hours. Senior district-level Chhatra Dal leaders participated in the demonstration.
Former general secretary of Cox’s Bazar District unit Chhatra Dal, Fahimur Rahman, accused Rafi of leading the “planned political killing.”
Confirming the incident, Cox’s Bazar Sadar Model Police Station Officer-in-Charge Ilias Khan said the body has been sent to Cox’s Bazar District Hospital for autopsy. “The body will be handed over to the family after post-mortem,” he added.
Although no case had been formally filed as of Tuesday morning, police confirmed the arrest of a Union Parishad (UP) member named Ehsan in connection with the incident. Efforts are underway to apprehend the other suspects involved.
