Man killed as muggers beat, run him over

Even though Kakoli Biswas begged for her husband Ananta Biswas' life, a mugger beat him up mercilessly and his getaway driver ran injured Ananta over killing him.

The incident took place on Kuril Bishwa Road in the capital when the couple were trying to hire an auto-rickshaw to go to their Sheorapara home around 5:30am yesterday.

After celebrating the Durga Puja in their Gaibandha village home, Kakoli and Ananta, returned to the capital and just got down from a bus on the road.

"My husband told me to wait on the pavement. As I was approaching it, someone yanked at my necklace from behind," Kakoli told a TV channel.

As Ananta tried to stop the mugger, the criminal started beating him with a stick until Ananta fell.

"I begged the mugger not to beat him and take the necklace instead. Before I could help Ananta get up from the road, the pick-up [driven by the mugger's cohort] ran him over," a sobbing Kakoli said.

With the help of locals, she took Ananta to Dhaka Medical College Hospital where doctors declared him dead.

DMC morgue sources said Ananta's had suffered fatal injuries in the chest.

 Shahidul Haque, officer-in-charge of Khilkhet Police Station, said Kakoli filed a murder case with the police station. He said they were looking for the pick-up and the mugger and the driver.

Ananta, a rickshaw-puller, was the lone breadwinner of the family of three. The couple have a seven-year-old son Antar Biswas.

Dulal Biswas, younger brother of Ananta, said their parents were numbed by the shock of their eldest son's death.

"It was a joyous Puja for our family as our brother came from Dhaka after a year," he added.

Ananta, 30, son of Anil Kumar Biswas of College Para area in Gaibandha, used to send money home, said Bimal Chandra Das, a neighbour of the family. "The poor family was dependent on Ananta's earnings," he added.

[Our Gaibandha correspondent contributed to the report.]