Business enmity behind Shamim attack: RAB

RAB has claimed a plan was hatched to kill Awami League (AL) leader AKM Enamul Haque Shamim because of business rivalry.

Staff Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 8 July 2014, 12:44 PM
Updated : 8 July 2014, 01:58 PM

RAB spokesperson ATM Habibur Rahman came up with the claim on Tuesday based on what he said were information provided by four people arrested on charges of firing at Shamim.

The arrestees claimed leaders of the AL’s affiliated wings had plotted the attack.

Shamim, a member of AL's Central Working Committee, is one of the directors of privately owned Stamford University. He also has other businesses.

Miscreants on a motorcycle fired at the former president of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), the AL’s student wing, on June 19 in Dhaka’s Dhanmondi.

He sustained bullet wounds in the left hand.

RAB said they had initially arrested Md Monir Hossain from Rajbarhi on charges of his involvement in the attack.

Based on his information they arrested Md Harun at Munshiganj, Md Mehedi Hasan and Nazrul Islam Jewel at Dhaka’s Tejturi Bazar.

Of them, Hossain and Jewel were involved in planning the attack while Harun and Hasan fired at the AL leader in exchange for money, RAB further claims.

Hossain and Hasan are also accused in two separate murder cases.

The four were arrested on Monday night.

RAB spokesperson Rahman at the news conference said one of Shamim’s business partners had planned the attack.

He earlier declined to disclose the name of the business partner but later he named him by mistake while narrating the details.

The businessman was ‘Jasim’, Rahman said but refused to divulge further.

The RAB official said Jasim had planned to spend Tk 100,000 to get Shamim killed.

Hossain was assigned to complete the task.

“Hossain then approached Jewel to hire criminals and decide where Shamim would be attacked,” Rahman said.

Two pistols were hired from Tejgaon’s arms dealer ‘Sayeed’ and two professional killers -- Harun and Hasan -- were hired to murder Shamim, the RAB official said.

As per the plan, the first attempt to kill Shamim was made on June 17, the arrested people told RAB.

“On that day Hasan tried to open fire on Shamim in front of Stamford University’s Siddheswari campus. But Shamim escaped unhurt as the pistol jammed,” RAB official Rahman said.

Hasan confessed that he fired at the AL leader.

He said, “Rana, who was riding the motorcycle, told me his elder brother Jasim was suspended from Stamford University unfairly. So a teacher would have to be intimidated.

“Accordingly, I along with Rana and Harun went to Dhanmondi on the day of attack.”

“Rana was riding the motorcycle, I was in the middle and Harun was in the back.

“When the motorcycle stopped next to Shamim’s car I fired three shots. But Harun’s pistol was not working after one shot,” Hasan said.

Harun told reporters, “I agreed to do the work for Tk 20,000.”

Hossain paid Hasan Tk 5,000 and Harun Tk 9,000 in several phases through bKash.

Jewel returned the pistols to the dealer, Harun said.

Rana is a BCL leader of Tejgaon thana, he said.

Jewel is a BCL activist while arms dealer Sayeed is an activist of AL-affiliated Swechhcasebak League.

Drives are on to arrest Jasim and Rana, RAB official Habibur Rahman said.

Shamim served as the BCL president from 1994 to 1998. He was also a BCL leader of Jahangirnagar University (JU) unit.

Hailing from Shariatpur, Shamim was vice president of JU Central Students’ Union from 1989 to 1991.