A Union Parishad member and local Awami League leader was hacked to death by assailants while returning home from a local market in Harinakundu upazila of Jhenaidah on Wednesday night.
The victim was identified as Moneyam Hossain, 50, a member of Ward 9 of Vayna Union Parishad and president of the Awami League’s ward unit. He was the son of the late Abul Mondal of Kalishankarapur village in Vayna Union.
The incident took place at around 8:30pm on Wednesday (9 September) near Vayna Bazar in the Kalishankarapur area. According to police and local residents, Hossain had travelled to Abdalpur in neighbouring Kushtia district in the afternoon to watch a sports event. He later returned to Vayna Bazar and began his journey home after finishing his work there.
While he was passing the northern side of Kalishankarapur Government Primary School, a group of assailants who had allegedly been waiting there attacked him. They reportedly used sharp locally made weapons to strike him repeatedly, leaving him critically injured.
Hearing his cries, people from the surrounding area rushed to the scene. Local residents rescued Hossain and took him towards Kushtia Medical College Hospital for treatment. However, doctors at the hospital declared him dead after he arrived.
His body is currently being kept at the hospital morgue. Police said an autopsy will be conducted before further legal action is taken.
Akhtar Hossain, a member of Ward 5 of Vayna Union Parishad, said Moneyam Hossain had gone to Abdalpur in the afternoon to watch a game. He was attacked while returning home after completing his work at the market.
The victim’s wife, Shilpi Khatun, appealed for justice following the killing. She said her husband had been returning home from the market when he was attacked behind the village school. His death, she said, had left the family devastated.
Harinakundu Police Station Officer-in-Charge Masum Khan said the identities of those responsible for the attack had not yet been established.
Police initially suspected that the killing could be linked to a longstanding dispute and that people from Hossain’s opposition may have been involved. The officer said investigators would examine the circumstances surrounding the attack and work to establish who was responsible.
The case is expected to be pursued following the post-mortem examination. Investigators will also seek to determine the motive behind the attack and whether the suspected personal dispute was directly connected to the killing.
