Police in Rajbari have unravelled the brutal murder of forty-five-year-old Faruk Sheikh, revealing that his younger brother orchestrated the crime to claim the proceeds of his national savings certificates. Faruk was found murdered inside his bedroom in Goalando on Saturday afternoon, having suffered fatal wounds to his throat before both of his hands were severed. Investigators have arrested the victim’s younger brother, Abdul Barek Sheikh, alongside two alleged accomplices, all of whom have delivered confessional statements before a magistrate.
The victim was the son of Abdul Khalek Sheikh, a resident of the Poura Jamtala area within Ward 1 of Goalando Municipality. The three individuals arrested in connection with the homicide are Abdul Barek Sheikh, alongside Mohammad Rubel Sheikh, aged thirty, and Mohammad Alamgir Hossain Alam, aged twenty-six, both hailing from Hossain Mandalpara in the Daulatdia Union.
Details of the family’s financial arrangements emerged through Josna Khatun, the wife of Faruk’s other brother, Arif Sheikh. Josna explained that Faruk had deposited eight hundred thousand taka from a land sale into national savings certificates at the state-owned Sonali Bank. Faruk had originally designated his mother as the nominee for the account. Following her death two years ago, he named Barek as the secondary beneficiary. Josna observed that, despite the substantial sum involved, the brothers had never engaged in outward disputes or visible animosity within the household.
The plot took shape at a local tea stall in Daulatdia Purba Para, managed by the victim’s maternal uncle, where Faruk worked alongside Rubel and Alam. Roughly six weeks before the incident, Faruk had a heated disagreement with the two co-workers, which led to their dismissal from the shop. Embittered by the loss of their livelihoods, Rubel and Alam harboured deep resentment towards him.
Sensing an opportunity, Barek approached the disgruntled men during the first week of August, proposing a contract killing driven by his desire to inherit the savings certificate funds prematurely. An initial attempt took place roughly a week before the murder when Rubel and Alam visited Faruk’s residence, but the victim managed to drive them away by force.
Undeterred, Barek finalised the plot during a meeting on Friday, paying the pair an initial fee of 1,700 taka. At midday on Saturday, Rubel and Alam arrived at the residence, where Barek supplied them with two coconut-cutting cleavers before stepping outside. Finding Faruk asleep with his bedroom door open, the attackers slit his throat and severed both his hands before fleeing the scene. Barek subsequently met them nearby, providing an additional 1,300 taka to finance their escape.
During a press briefing held at the office of the Superintendent of Police in Rajbari on Sunday afternoon, Additional Superintendent of Police (Crime and Operations) Mohammad Shamsul Haque stated that the victim’s father lodged a formal murder case on Saturday night. Interrogators grew suspicious of Barek after noticing glaring inconsistencies in his statements, which eventually led to a full confession and the recovery of two sharp weapons, blood-stained garments, mobile phones, and masks. All three suspects were produced before the court on Sunday afternoon, where their confessional statements were formally recorded.
