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Jatiyatabadi Jubo Dal President Monayem Munna has questioned why the main culprits in the brutal killing of a scrap trader outside Old Dhaka's Mitford Hospital have not been arrested or named in the case statement.
Speaking at an emergency media briefing organised by the BNP’s three affiliated bodies Jubo Dal, Swechchhasebak Dal, and Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, Munna alleged that the government was “deliberately stalling administrative action” to maintain a state of chaos and use it as a pretext to delay the national election, bdnews24.com reports.
Saturday's briefing came amid protests and widespread outrage over the murder of trader Md Sohag alias Lal Chand.
“Those who were directly involved in the incident, as clearly seen in video footage and CCTV, were surprisingly not made the main accused in the case. And those who inflicted the fatal blows have yet to be arrested. We fail to understand why.”
On Wednesday, Sohag, a trader of scrap and old wires, was publicly bludgeoned to death with a concrete boulder outside Gate No. 3 of Mitford Hospital. In the wake of the incident, five members of the BNP’s affiliated organisations were expelled, three of whom are named in the case.
Munna highlighted comments made to the media by the complainant’s daughter, who alleged that police deliberately left out the names of three actual killers from the first information report (FIR) and instead charged three innocent people.
“More than 60 hours have passed since the incident, and despite having evidence of the murder, the main suspects have not been arrested,” Munna said.
“Through you, the media, we also want to know who and why someone excluded the three actual suspects and replaced them with others. Also, why was news of the murder, which occurred on Wednesday, only widely circulated on Friday? Who is behind this delay? That should be investigated.”
Munna urged law enforcement to take immediate and proper action.
Several disturbing videos of the murder and its aftermath have circulated on social media, triggering public shock and outrage.
On Friday, police announced the arrest of four people in connection with the incident.
Speaking at the BNP’s central office in Naya Paltan, Munna expressed concern over the country’s overall law and order situation and condemned the killing.
“Among those named in the case as instigators, five are from our three organisations. We expelled them for life and urged law enforcement to arrest them and bring them to justice without delay,” he said.
“From a sense of organisational responsibility and accountability, we have taken all necessary steps,” Munna added.