Two held over killing of ex-Swechchhasebak Dal leader

 
Police have arrested two suspects in connection with the killing of former Swechchhasebak Dal leader Billal Hossain Talukdar in the Mouchak area in Dhaka.

The arrestees are -- Al Amin, convener of Ward No. 19 Jubo Dal and Riaz, an activist of the same ward unit.. They, were detained on Tuesday from Dhaka and Munshiganj.

Sheikh Zahidul Islam, deputy commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police's Ramna Division, said investigators began working to identify those involved immediately after the killing. As part of the drive, suspected attacker Riaz was picked up in the capital on Monday night. Al Amin was later held in Munshiganj early on Tuesday morning.

Police are questioning the two men to establish the motive behind the killing and identify others who may have been involved, Zahidul said.  Billal, 57, was stabbed around 8:30pm on Monday in an alley in front of Anarkali Market in Mouchak. He was taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital in critical condition and died around 9:30pm.

Billal had served as convenor of Ward No. 19 of the Ramna unit of Swechchhasebak Dal, the volunteer wing of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).

He was arrested in September last year in a case over an attack and vandalism at the office of Sohag Paribahan in Malibagh and was later expelled from the organisation.

Citing people who took Billal to hospital, police said he had gone near the Anarkali Market to attend an arbitration meeting over a dispute. At one stage, a fight broke out during the mediation and led to the stabbing. Police said “10 to 12 unidentified people” attacked him and fled after stabbing him on the right side of his chest.

According to police, preliminary findings suggest that the murder stemmed from a longstanding rivalry over control of footpaths, extortion and local influence in the area.