Mitford murder: Plaintiff alleges 3 names dropped from case

In the case over the brutal daylight killing of scrap trader Sohag in Puran Dhaka, the victim's family has alleged that the real perpetrators were left out of the case and unrelated individuals have been implicated instead.

Plaintiff Manjuara Begum, Sohag's sister, told TBS that three names from her original list of accused were removed during the filing of the case.

Speaking to TBS this evening, Manjuara Begum said, "I submitted a list of accused persons, but three names were removed from it. I didn't realise this at the time. I initially gave 22 names, but it was later reduced to 19." 

The names allegedly excluded are Kaiyum Molla (45), Rakesh (35), and Rahim (36).

However, she added, "In the morning, police contacted me and said they will include the three excluded names in the FIR."

Multiple attempts to reach the case's recording and investigating officer, Kotwali Police Station's Officer-in-Charge Nasir Uddin, went unanswered.

When contacted, Deputy Commissioner of Lalbagh Division Mohammad Jasim told TBS, "I'm not aware of any changes to the FIR after the case was filed. I also can't say who from our side contacted the plaintiff today."

He added, "I already addressed the matter of name omission during Saturday's press briefing."

Two more arrested, two remanded

Meanwhile, police today arrested two more people accused in the case filed over the murder.

The two arrestees have been identified as Rajib and Sajib. They were detained from Dhaka and an adjacent area of the capital city, according to Mohammad Jasim Uddin, deputy commissioner (DC) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police's Lalbagh Division.

With these arrests, a total of seven people have now been apprehended in connection with Sohag's murder.

DC Jasim declined to provide further details about the identities of the two beyond confirming that they were named in the case.

A Dhaka court later placed two accused in the case, Alamgir and Monir, on a four-day remand each.

'Govt is treating the brutal incident with utmost importance'

Talking to reporters at the Secretariat, Home Affairs Adviser Lt Gen (retd) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury said, "The government is treating the brutal murder incident in Mitford with utmost importance. Of the 19 people mentioned in the First Information Report (FIR) filed in this murder case, seven have already been arrested by police, the RAB, and the army.

"Intelligence teams are conducting operations in various locations outside Dhaka to arrest the remaining accused."

The home adviser said if more accused are found during the investigation, they will also be brought under the law. 

BNP serves legal notice to Jugantor editor

BNP Legal Affairs Secretary Barrister Kayser Kamal has issued a legal notice to Daily Jugantor Editor Abdul Hye Sikder for publishing a report that "falsely implicates the BNP in the murder of Sohag."

The notice demands a public apology within five days for publishing the report 'deliberately."

Speaking to reporters on the Supreme Court premises today, Barrister Kayser Kamal said the brutal murder was condemned by all, including BNP's acting chairman Tarique Rahman and Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, who have called for swift justice.

"However, Jugantor published a report directly blaming BNP, despite initial police findings indicating the incident stemmed from a business dispute. The report's claim of extortion by BNP is entirely baseless," he said.

The BNP leader added that the party denounces such "politically motivated" and "irresponsible journalism."

Writ filed seeking judicial probe into the murder

A writ petition has been filed with the High Court seeking the formation of a high-powered judicial commission to investigate the killing.

Supreme Court lawyer Yunus Ali Akhand filed the writ petition today. The petition is expected to be heard today by the High Court bench of Justice Kazi Zinat Hoque and Justice Aynun Nahar Siddiqua.