Dating app meeting ends in murder over money, police nab four

Police have arrested four people in connection with the killing of a young man, Najmul Haque Niaz, who was found dead with his throat slit at a house in Badda, Dhaka.

The arrested are Md Sifat Hossain (21), Md Sakib Al Hasan (19), Raiyan (20), and Md Nayan Pramanik (21). All four have been sent to court, Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Talebur Rahman of the DMP's Media and Public Relations Division said yesterday.

Police said Sifat was arrested first during a raid in the Gazipur Board Bazar area around 9:30pm on Wednesday. The other three were arrested later that night, around midnight, from the Mogbazar area. During the raids, police recovered a television, a mobile phone and clothes believed to have been used by the suspects.

According to police, Najmul was killed sometime between 6:15pm and 11:00pm on 29 December at his residence in Badda. His uncle, Md Farukul Islam, later filed a murder case with the Badda Police Station.

Investigators said the suspects were identified using police intelligence, CCTV footage and other technical evidence. Police said Najmul had earlier become acquainted with a person named Alif through an online dating platform, and through that connection, he later came to know Sifat and Sakib. The suspects would often visit Najmul's home, where they spent time together and used drugs, police claimed.

At one point, Sifat and Sakib, short on money for outings with their girlfriends, decided to extort cash from Najmul at any cost. On 29 December, they bought a sharp knife, which Sifat brought to Najmul's home and hid under a mattress. 

After using drugs together and becoming physically intimate, Najmul grew drowsy and semi-conscious. Seizing the opportunity, Sifat struck him with the knife, inflicting deep, fatal wounds to his face and throat. The suspects then fled the scene, taking two Samsung mobile phones, a television, and Najmul's wallet. Further investigation into the case is underway, police said.