Arms trader Helal placed on 3-day remand in Shaheed Hadi murder case

A Dhaka court on Wednesday granted a three-day remand for Md Majedul Haque Helal, a suspected arms trader from Chattogram, in connection with the murder of Inqilab Moncho spokesperson Sharif Osman Hadi.

Helal was produced before the court after the investigation officer, CID Assistant Superintendent Abdul Kadir Bhuiyan, sought a seven-day remand. 

The prosecution supported the request, while no defence lawyer was present. 

The court, presided over by Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Jashita Islam, approved a three-day remand after the accused declined to make any statement.

Helal, the owner of Hamidul Haque Arms & Co in Chattogram, was arrested from the port city on Tuesday.

According to investigators, the pistol used in the killing was recovered from Narsingdi and forensic analysis helped trace its serial number. 

The weapon, imported in 2017, passed through licensed dealers before reaching Helal in 2018. 

Police said he had purchased it without renewing his licence, which had expired in 2014.

Investigators are now trying to determine how the weapon reached the suspects involved in the case.

Shaheed Sharif Osman Hadi was shot on December 12 last year in Paltan while travelling by auto-rickshaw after Friday prayers in Motijheel. He was later taken to Singapore for treatment, where he died on December 18.

The case was initially filed as an attempted murder but was later converted into a murder case following his death.

MAL/SH