Case filed over lawyer beaten to death in Bashundhara

A case has been filed with the Bhatara Police Station in connection with the incident of a lawyer Naeem Kibria beaten to death in the capital's Bashundhara Residential Area.

The case was lodged tonight (1 January) by the victim's father, Golam Kibria, police said.

Confirming the filing, Rakibul Islam Shamim, the victim's brother, told The Business Standard that Naeem was beaten to death by a mob. 

"Someone he knew from Pabna identified him and instigated others, after which a mob formed and killed him," he said.

According to the family, Naeem's car was later found on Road-7 in Block K of Bashundhara, while his body was recovered from Road-15, in front of Walton House.

Upon receiving information, Naeem's cousin Rafiqul rushed to the spot and took him to nearby Kurmitola General Hospital, where on-duty doctors declared him dead.

Lawyer beaten to death after motorcycle-car collision in Bashundhara area

Police later recovered the body from the hospital and sent it to the Dhaka Medical College morgue for an autopsy. After an autopsy, his body was handed over to the family.

Police said an investigation is underway.

"People known to him formed a mob and carried out attack'

Rakibul informed that Naeem was an accused in a murder case linked to the July Uprising in Pabna, where he was listed as the 66th accused. "He had come to Dhaka to surrender before the High Court and seek bail in that case."

He said, "Naeem had family connections with local Awami League leaders in Pabna and had worked as a junior to Advocate Ahad Babu, a former joint general secretary of the party's Pabna district unit and a four-time elected general secretary of the Pabna Bar Association."

"Because of this, Naeem had many enemies. He was maliciously implicated in that murder case," he claimed.

He further said Naeem is survived by his wife and a third-grade school-going daughter, though no one currently lives at their house as the family had been in hiding since 5 August. "Even then, miscreants regularly came on motorcycles, abused us and kicked the gate. The last such incident was on 27 December," he added, reiterating the suspicion that acquaintances from Pabna had identified Naeem in Basundhara and attacked him.

Bhatara Police Station Sub-Inspector told TBS Naeem was driving a private car in the Bashundhara Residential Area around 10pm yesterday when the vehicle collided with a motorcycle. "Following the collision, a group of unidentified youths, including the motorcycle rider, dragged Naeem out of the car and beat him severely."

"They beat him brutally and left him lying on the road," said SI Ariful Islam.

Naeem Kibria hailed from Pabna Sadar upazila and was the son of Golam Kibria. He worked as a lawyer at the Pabna District and Sessions Judge's Court.