The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested the former chairman of the Phultala Upazila on Thursday night for his alleged involvement with the murder of BNP leader Sheikh Sajjaduzzaman Ziko in 2022.
The arrestee has been identified as Sheikh Akram Hossain, 62, current President of Phultala unit Awami League.
Lieutenant Colonel Faizul Arifin of RAB-6 said that acting on a tip-off, a team from RAB-6 and the Batiapara Camp set up a checkpoint in Golchattar area of Batiapara in Kashiani of Gopalganj district and arrested Hossain from a private car around 8:45PM on Thursday. Later, the elite force handed over Hossain to the Phultala police station in Khulna.
According to the case statement, on October 22, 2022, Ziko was injured in an attack allegedly by Awami League activists on the Bhairab River while BNP activists from Phultala Upazila heading to a trawler to attend the part’s divisional mass rally in Khulna.
The injured BNP activists, including Ziko, for treatment went to the Fulthala Upazila Health Complex, where AL activists carried out attacks, forcing them to leave the health complex.
Later, on October 24, 2022, around 10PM, while seeking treatment at a dispensary, some miscreants attacked Ziko again and he died. The case statement mentioned that the miscreants also obstructed the victim's autopsy and burial.
When an attempt was taken to file a case with the police station following the death, the case was refused. SM Monirul Hasan Bappi, a relative of the victim, filed a murder case on August 29 with the Phultala police station.
