A local leader of the Jubo League, the youth wing of the Awami League, was murdered in the early hours of Sunday in the Muradnagar upazila of Cumilla. The victim, 45-year-old Anwar Hossain, was dragged from his bed by an armed group, beaten, and hacked to death inside his own home.
The incident occurred at around 3:00 am in Pennai village under the Srikail Union. According to family members, an armed gang broke down the door of the bedroom where Anwar was sleeping alongside his wife and children. The attackers targeted him with sharp weapons, severely beating him and severing the tendons in his hands and feet. When his wife, Momena Begum, attempted to shield her husband from the assault, she was also struck with sharp weapons and injured.
Neighbours rushed to the scene after hearing the commotion and transported the injured couple to the nearest medical facility, where attending doctors pronounced Anwar dead on arrival.
Anwar was a prominent local figure who served as the president of the Ward No. 2 Jubo League in Srikail Union and held a position as a sitting member of the Srikail Union Parishad. He was widely known as a close political associate of former local Member of Parliament Youssuf Abdullah Harun.
However, his political standing was accompanied by severe local controversy. Police records show that Anwar faced at least five criminal cases across the Muradnagar and Bangora Bazar police stations, with allegations ranging from assault to extortion and land grabbing. Local residents had previously accused him of installing dredgers on privately owned land without authorization to sell soil illegally. In 2023, he and his associates reportedly attacked the vehicle of the Muradnagar Assistant Commissioner (Land) during an official drive against illegal dredging.
Political rivalries inside the upazila further complicated his position. Following the 12th National Parliamentary Election in January 2024, when Jahangir Alam—the former general secretary of the Cumilla North District Awami League—won the seat, Anwar fled the area amid violent local backlash. Angry residents and political opponents had vandalised his homestead on multiple occasions. He was subsequently unable to return home even after the fall of the Awami League government on 5 August due to persistent local resistance. Reports indicate he had only returned home in secret shortly before the fatal attack took place.
The victim’s family claims the attack was a calculated act of violence tied to extortion and political rivalry. Momena Begum stated that local figures, including former Union Parishad member Firoz, Kabir Munshi, Jalal, and Pintu, had demanded 10 crore taka from her husband. She asserted that he was killed systematically because he refused to comply with the extortion demand. The victim’s son-in-law, Shafiqul Islam, reiterated the claim, alleging that the attack was led directly by followers of Jahangir Alam.
Efforts to reach the accused individuals for comment were unsuccessful as their mobile phones remained switched off.
Bangora Bazar Police Station Inspector-in-Charge (OC) Safiqul Islam confirmed the homicide, stating that police received news of the incident around 4:00 am. Officers recovered the body and sent it to the Cumilla Medical College Hospital morgue for an autopsy. Multiple police units have commenced operations to track down and apprehend those involved in the killing.
