Man detained with licenced revolver in connection with Savar painter’s murder

The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) has detained Mehedi Hasan, 64, the prime suspect in the fatal shooting of a car painter in a crowded area in Savar on the night of 19 May.

Hasan, a resident of Ghoshpara in Savar, was apprehended at around 10:30pm last night (22 May) in the Targach area under Gazipur's Gacha Police Station, confirmed RAB-4 (CPC-2) Company Commander Major Jalis Mahmud Khan to The Business Standard today (23 May).

At the time of arrest, RAB also recovered a licenced revolver and 17 rounds of ammunition from Hasan's possession, the official said.

In a press release, RAB stated that during preliminary interrogation, Hasan confessed to shooting Shahin, the painter, following an altercation that stemmed from longstanding personal animosity.

The murder occurred around 9:30pm on Monday on the road in front of the house of former Dhaka-19 lawmaker Dr Dewan Mohammad Salahuddin Babu, located in the Bank Colony area of Savar municipality.

The victim, Shahin, 30, worked at a nearby garage and was shot dead in plain sight in the crowded neighbourhood, triggering widespread concern and shock among locals.

Shahin, son of Kabir Hossain from the Boliarpur area of Savar, lived with his family in the Radio Colony neighbourhood.

Following the incident, Savar Model Police Station personnel visited the crime scene and recovered Shahin's body, which was later sent to a hospital for autopsy.

CCTV camera footage from a nearby shop showed onlookers turning their attention toward the road around 9:21pm, moments before Shahin, seen walking and leaning on an electric pole, suddenly collapsed to the ground.