Kushtia Pir Murder Probe Stalls

Police in Daulatpur upazila of Kushtia have failed to make any arrests four days after the killing of Pir Abdur Rahman, also known as Shamim, despite an ongoing investigation into the case.

The victim’s elder brother, Fazlur Rahman, filed a murder case at Daulatpur Police Station on Monday night. The complaint names Muhammad Khaja Ahmed, a local Jamaat leader, as the principal accused and alleged instigator of the attack. Ahmed is a former president of the Kushtia district unit of Chhatra Shibir and currently a member of the working committee of the Daulatpur upazila unit of Jamaat-e-Islami. He hails from Islampur village in Phulbari Union and is the son of Kalam Dafadar.

According to the First Information Report (FIR), three other individuals are named alongside him, while around 180 to 200 unidentified persons have also been accused of involvement in the attack.

Named accused persons

Investigating officer Sheikh Md. Ali Mortuza, Inspector of Daulatpur Police Station, confirmed on Wednesday that no arrests have yet been made. He stated that police operations were continuing and expressed optimism that arrests would be made in due course.

The FIR alleges that the attack took place on Saturday afternoon at the victim’s residence in Phulbari, where a spiritual establishment (derbar sharif) is located. It states that on the instructions of the principal accused, a large group of 180 to 200 people armed with iron rods, machetes, knives, axes, bamboo sticks and wooden clubs forcibly entered the premises, vandalised doors and windows, and carried out a coordinated assault.

The complaint further alleges that several individuals, including Rajib Mistry, attacked people inside the building. It states that Abdur Rahman was struck repeatedly with iron rods and later hacked in multiple places with sharp weapons, causing severe injuries to his head, jaw, lips, chin, back and legs.

It is also alleged that a caretaker named Jamiron was injured while attempting to intervene, suffering a cut to her left wrist when she tried to shield herself from an attack.

The FIR additionally claims that the attackers caused extensive damage to property worth approximately 2 million Bangladeshi taka, and stole around 500,000 taka along with gold ornaments weighing four bhori from a steel almirah after breaking it open.

Following the incident, Daulatpur upazila unit of Jamaat-e-Islami issued a statement on Tuesday night denying any organisational involvement. Signed by local leaders, the statement described the incident as non-political and spontaneous, claiming that none of the individuals involved were affiliated with any political party. It further alleged that attempts were being made to falsely implicate the organisation in the case and called for a fair investigation to identify and punish the real perpetrators.

The investigation remains ongoing as police continue their search for the accused.