Kushtia BNP leader who joined Awami League hacked to death

A BNP leader from Kushtia’s Mirpur who had recently switched allegiance to the ruling Awami League has been hacked to death by miscreants in broad daylight.

The deceased politician, Lutfur Rahman Sabu was the BNP candidate for the upazila polls and a former general secretary of the Mirpur Upazila Krishak Dal.

A rural doctor cum politician, Sabu had recently deserted the BNP and joined the Awami League.

Angry locals retaliated by vandalising and setting fire to the house of a local leader of Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JaSoD), as he is accused of assigning his men for the murder.

The murder happened at about 1:30pm on Wednesday, Mirpur OC Qazi Jalal Uddin said.

Quoting eyewitnesses, the OC said that Sabu started for Alamdanga on a motorbike at about 1:30pm. He was waylaid by miscreants near the Eidgah at Ambarhia and hacked with sharp weapons.

Meanwhile, angry locals set ablaze the house of Ambarhia Union Parishad Chairman and JaSod's Upazila unit Vice-President Moshiur Rahman Milon’s house holding him responsible for the killing.

Mirpur Fire Service personnel responding to the call doused the flame after half an hour.

Sabu’s elder brother Kabil Uddin said that the murder was the result of political feud carried forward from the recent Upazila polls.

“The current Upazila chairman, Moshiur Rahman’s men, have committed the murder,” he alleged.

Moshiur Rahman has however refuted the allegations.

He said, “Lutfur Rahman Sabu is in no way my opponent or rival. Neither I nor any of my men are involved in his murder.”

Rahman made the counter allegation that a conspiracy is afoot to frame him in the incident.

The Upazila Awami League led a protest rally and later set fire to the Upazila JaSod office.

Mirpur OC Qazi Jalal Uddin said, “(We) have come to know that the Upazila JaSod office was set the fire under the leadership of Upazila Awami League president and general secretary in the wake of the incident of murder of the former BNP leader Sabu.”

Mirpur Upazila Awami League General Secretary Kamrul Arefin speaking on the incident of fire at JaSod office said that it was possible that enraged workers and leaders caused the incident.

Kushtia SP Proloy Chishim said that security forces had been deployed in the area to ensure that law and order are maintained.

JaSod President and Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu has condemned the arson at the Upazila JaSod office and the residence of Moshiur Rahman. 

In a media release issued Wednesday evening, Inu blamed a group of miscreants who have joined the Awami League for the fire incident at the JaSod office.