A 40-year-old man was killed in Tongi, Gazipur, after assailants allegedly attacked him with a sharp weapon and severed the tendons in both his legs in a dispute reportedly linked to the sale and purchase of drugs.
The incident took place at a sand field in the Gopalpur area of Tongi at around 11.45pm on Tuesday, 1 September, according to police.
The deceased was identified as Nurul Islam, son of the late Nazrul Islam of Tepirbari in Sreepur upazila of Gazipur. He had been living with his family in a rented house in the Gopalpur area.
Police said Nurul had been involved in a dispute with several local youths over drug transactions. As tensions between them continued, a group of youths allegedly went to his home at around 8pm on Tuesday and called him outside.
Several hours later, Nurul was allegedly taken to a sand field in Gopalpur, where he was attacked with a sharp weapon. The attackers reportedly severed the tendons in both of his legs, leaving him critically injured.
Following the attack, the assailants placed the injured man in a CNG-powered auto-rickshaw. He was subsequently taken to Tongi’s Shaheed Ahsan Ullah Master General Hospital for treatment. Doctors at the hospital examined him and declared him dead.
Police have since detained the auto-rickshaw driver, identified as Jisan, for questioning over the incident. Investigators are seeking to establish how the injured man came to be transported in the vehicle and whether the driver had any involvement in the attack.
The circumstances surrounding the assault are also being investigated. Police are looking into who took Nurul from his home, who was present at the sand field and what led to the dispute over drug transactions escalating into a fatal attack.
Tongi East Police Station officer-in-charge Mohammad Maksudul Alam said one person had been detained and was being questioned in connection with the incident. Legal proceedings were under way, he said.
Police have yet to disclose the identities of the other suspected attackers or confirm whether any arrests beyond the detention of the auto-rickshaw driver have been made.
The investigation is expected to focus on the reported dispute over drug trading, the sequence of events between Nurul being taken from his home and the attack, and the circumstances surrounding his subsequent transport to hospital. Authorities are also working to determine the full extent of the involvement of those suspected of carrying out the assault.
