After his arrest in connection with the murder of businessman Lal Chand Sohag (alias Sohag) near Sir Salimullah Medical College Hospital (Mitford) gate in Old Dhaka, Mohammad Rizwan Uddin Abhi provided a preliminary confession to the police, claiming that his brutal attack on Sohag, slamming a large stone down on his torso and head, was a result of personal anger.
Additional Commissioner (Crime and Operations) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) SM Nazrul Islam told Times of Bangladesh on Wednesday, “This was not an extortion-related killing. There were business and personal disputes behind the murder. During interrogation, Abhi explained why he had attacked Sohag.”
Police said that after his arrest from Patuakhali on Tuesday night, Abhi disclosed during questioning that he held deep resentment against Sohag. According to Abhi, Sohag’s actions had forced him to leave the country and move to Malaysia. Abhi alleged that Sohag had harassed his wife, Srabonti, leading to her eventual suicide.
When Abhi returned to Bangladesh after Srabonti’s death and learning of the cause behind her suicide, Abhi grew furious at Sohag. On the day of the murder, Abhi joined others in attacking Sohag and delivered the fatal blow with a stone to his head.
So far, nine people have been arrested in connection with the widely discussed Mitford murder case. The victim’s sister, Manjuara Begum, had filed a case naming 19 individuals.
Investigators revealed that accused Abhi is the son of Monoranjan Basu and Beauty Deb Mila. His father had passed away when Abhi was a child. In 2007, Beauty left Abhi at his father’s house and moved to Malaysia, where she married a Muslim man named Obaidur Rahman and converted to Islam. In 2008, she took Abhi to Malaysia, where he developed an interest in Islam after learning about it from Obaidur.
Meanwhile, Abhi fell in love with a woman named Srabonti from Rajbari on Facebook. In 2017, he returned to Bangladesh, converted to Islam, and married her.
Later, he opened a food shop near Mitford Gate No 3 after paying Tk 2.5 lakh in extortion money. The shop earned him Tk 30,000–40,000 per month. He then built a five-story house in Keraniganj as per his wife’s wishes. Their life was going well with the rental income and shop earnings.
Abhi told police that Sohag once visited his shop and had demanded Tk 300 daily as extortion payment. When Abhi refused, Sohag took snatched his phone away. After Abhi had filed a written complaint regarding Sohag’s actions, Sohag returned the phone but allegedly kept intimate videos of Abhi and his wife to blackmail them. Over time, Sohag had extorted Tk 90,000 from Abhi.
In 2023, Abhi left for Malaysia again. However, he returned to Bangladesh in May last year after learning of his wife’s suicide. Upon checking her phone, he found evidence suggesting Sohag’s involvement in her death.
Abhi claimed that on the day of the murder, he received a call from Lomba Monir, saying, “Today, Sohag will be caught.” When Abhi arrived at the scene, he saw Sohag being beaten. Fueled by anger, he struck Sohag’s head with a stone.
However, during his remand hearing on Wednesday, Abhi changed his statement in court, saying, “I only threw a small stone from a distance. I didn’t hit him directly.”