6 held over Raju murder in Ctg

Police have arrested six people, including the alleged main suspect, over the fatal shooting of a young man in Chattogram’s Bayezid Bostami.

The incident also left an 11-year-old girl critically injured by a stray bullet.

According to police, the killing of Hasan Raju, 24, was carried out in retaliation for the murder of Nasir Uddin, alias Madhu Nasir, in Raozan on April 26.

At a briefing yesterday afternoon, Md Amirul Islam, deputy commissioner (North Zone) of Chattogram Metropolitan Police, said Raju was the seventh accused in the case filed over Nasir’s killing.

“During primary interrogation, the arrestees said Raju was killed to avenge Nasir’s death. The two groups had a long-standing rivalry over establishing dominance in the area,” the DC said.

The prime suspect, Syedul Karim, 27, was arrested from the Sugandha Beach area in Cox’s Bazar on Monday afternoon, police said.

Based on information obtained during interrogation, police seized a foreign-made pistol, a magazine, two rounds of ammunition and clothes allegedly worn during the shooting, officers said.

The other arrestees are Md Abdul Mannan, 37, identified as the driver of the CNG-run auto-rickshaw allegedly used in the getaway, Md Younus Mia, 24, Md Ayatullah Ali Adnan, 21, Md Abu Bakkar Siddique, alias Khokon, 48, and Azgar Ali, 39.

Police said the arrests were made during drives in Cox’s Bazar and several areas of Chattogram, including Double Mooring, Roufabad and Chandgaon, between Monday afternoon and early yesterday.

Meanwhile, 11-year-old Reshmi Akthar, who was hit by a stray bullet during the shooting, remains on life support at Chittagong Medical College Hospital.

Doctors said the fourth-grade student has suffered multi-organ failure and remains in critical condition. “The bullet is still lodged in the back of her head. As it passed through critical parts of the brain, surgery is extremely risky and could cause fatal haemorrhaging,” said Prof KM Baki Billah, head of the anaesthesiology department at CMCH.

CMCH Director Brig Gen Taslim Uddin said a specialised medical board was monitoring her condition round the clock.

The shooting took place on the night of May 7 in front of the Bihari Colony at Roufabad, when five to six masked gunmen allegedly opened fire targeting Raju, according to police.

Reshmi, the youngest of five siblings and a student at Barrister Milki Memorial School and College, was on her way to buy betel leaves for her mother around 9:10pm when she was struck.

Raju’s mother, Sakina Begum, filed a murder case with Bayezid Police Station on May 9.