Three-Wheeler Driver Brutally Murdered Over Vehicle Theft in Mymensingh

A 25-year-old auto-rickshaw driver was hacked to death by a gang of miscreants who subsequently fled with his three-wheeled passenger vehicle. The brutal assault took place at approximately 11:00 pm on Saturday, 18 July, along the Shambhuganj-Paranganj road in Mymensingh Sadar upazila. The incident occurred in a secluded patch of land adjacent to the Char Haripur Union Parishad office under the Char Ishwardia Union.

The deceased, identified as Rajib Islam, was the son of Ebadul Islam, residing in the Char Ishwardia Saitan Kanda area under Ward 31 of Mymensingh city. Rajib operated the battery-powered carriage to support his family, leaving behind an impoverished household and a two-and-a-half-year-old daughter.

Local police and community members revealed that several unidentified men hired Rajib’s vehicle under the pretext of travelling from Shambhuganj to the Joybangla Bazar area. As the vehicle reached a particularly dark and desolate stretch of road near the local administrative union headquarters, the passengers turned on the young driver. Brandishing sharp weapons, the assailants indiscriminately stabbed and hacked Rajib after he reportedly resisted their attempts to seize the vehicle. Once he collapsed from massive trauma, the attackers dragged his body into a thicket by the roadside and drove away.

The crime came to light almost immediately when another auto-rickshaw driver, trailing closely behind with passengers, noticed suspicious movements and bloodstains on the tarmac. Their frantic shouts alerted nearby residents, who rushed to the location armed with makeshift torches. However, the killers had already accelerated towards Paranganj before the villagers could intercept them. Upon discovering the bleeding body in the bushes, locals immediately alerted the Kotwali Model Police Station.

A police dispatch team arrived shortly after midnight to recover the body, sending it to the Mymensingh Medical College Hospital morgue for an official post-mortem examination. Senior law enforcement officials, including Additional Superintendent of Police (Sadar Circle) Asaduzzaman Shakil and Kotwali Model Police Station Officer-in-Charge Mohammad Shibirul Islam, visited the spot overnight to oversee the initial evidence gathering.

The police chief confirmed that the primary motive appears to be the theft of the commercial vehicle. Targeted operations have commenced across neighbouring upazilas to track down the stolen auto-rickshaw and apprehend the perpetrators behind the gang. Formal legal proceedings are currently underway to register a murder case.