Journalist Mohiuddin was 'tactfully' lured to Cumilla border and killed, say police

Journalist Mohiuddin Sarkar Nayeem was "tactfully" taken to an area near the Indian border in Cumilla's Burichang Upazila and murdered, according to the police.

Four men with alleged links to the shooting death of Mohiuddin were arrested a day after the incident on Thursday.

Two of the arrestees, Md Farhad Mridha, 38 and Md Palash Mia, 34, are named in the murder case started by Mohiuddin's mother Nazma Begum, according to the district's Additional Superintendent of Police Sohan Sarkar. The other suspects were identified as Nuru Mia and Sujan Mia.

Mohiuddin, a native of Burichang Upazila's Rajapur, was shot dead by drug traffickers near the border with India on Wednesday.

His mother subsequently filed a case against three people along with a few other unidentified assailants.

Md Raju, a notorious drug smuggler, is the key suspect in the case. He has been implicated in several cases related to drugs, firearms and smuggling, according to the police.

"Journalists Mohiuddin, Farhad and Palash knew one another as they lived in the same neighbourhood. Palash took Mohiuddin to the border area on his motorcycle. Farhad was also with them," Burichang Police Station chief Alamgir Hossain said on Friday.

"We've learnt that Mohiuddin was taken there as part of a plan made by the key suspect in the case, Raju, in collusion with Palash and Farhad. After the incident, Palash and Farhad left the motorcycle there and fled."

Nuru and Sujan had helped them escape the scene, according to Alamgir.

Mohiuddin, 28, was the son of retired policeman Mosharraf Hossain Sarkar from Brahmanpara’s Malapara.

He was a staff reporter for a local newspaper 'Dainik Cumillar Dak'. He was also the former local correspondent of Ananda TV.