BNP leader hacked to death at tea stall in Bagerhat

Police float feud theory, but offer no evidence

A BNP leader has been killed in Bagerhat town after assailants arrived on motorcycles and hacked him while he was sitting at a tea stall, police say.

The incident occurred around 6:30pm on Friday at the three-road intersection in Uttar Harikhali, Bagerhat Sadar Model Police Station chief Md Mahmud-ul-Hasan said.

The victim, ASM Hayat Uddin, 43, was a former member of the town BNP committee.

He had recently contested for the post of organising secretary at the party’s biannual council but lost.

Before that, he had been involved with local units of the BNP’s student and youth wings.

Police have visited the scene following the killing. Officers have claimed the murder may be linked to a previous dispute, but they have not clarified what the dispute was.

Hayat was the son of Sheikh Nizam Uddin of Uttar Harikhali. Local residents said he also introduced himself as a staff correspondent for the Dhaka-based daily Vorer Chetona.

Officer Mahmud, citing witnesses, said: “Around 6:30pm, Hayat was sitting at the tea stall. Suddenly, four to five young men arrived on two motorcycles, attacked him with sharp weapons, and fled the scene.”

Locals rescued him in a severely injured condition and took him to the 250-Bed District Hospital in Bagerhat. As his condition worsened, he was referred to Khulna Medical College Hospital, the officer added.

Doctors there declared him dead on arrival. His body remains at the hospital.

Mahmud said investigators are looking into a previous dispute as a possible motive, though a final conclusion will depend on the ongoing investigation.