Police have arrested a man with a foreign-made pistol and ammunition following a shooting incident in Dhaka’s Mirpur area on Tuesday night.
The arrested man has been identified as Md Kawsar Bhuiyan, alias Shanto.
Police said they apprehended Shanto near the Mirpur-10 roundabout at around 9:15pm after receiving reports of gunshots fired from the south side of Chowrangi Market, located between Metro Rail pillars 252 and 253.
With the help of local residents, police detained the suspect at the scene and recovered a foreign pistol, four used cartridges, two live rounds and a bullet-like object.
According to Mirpur Model Police Station sources, the suspected target of the attack was Saiful Islam Siju.
Police said their preliminary investigation found that Shant had allegedly been planning to attack Siju for some time. To get close to him, the suspect reportedly introduced himself as someone interested in politics, gained Siju’s confidence and accompanied him to several political programmes.
On the night of the incident, Shanto allegedly sat with Siju and had tea shortly before carrying out the attack with his associates as part of a pre-planned operation.
Siju sustained serious injuries and was taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), where he is undergoing treatment. Police suspect the shooting was linked to previous enmity and a dispute over establishing control in the Mirpur-10 area.
Investigators also found that Shanto is already a charge-sheeted accused in another case filed under the Arms Act with Mirpur Model Police Station.
Police said efforts are underway to identify and arrest others involved in the shooting.
