Five arrested over killing of trader outside Mitford hospital

A scrap trade rivalry and old feuds were behind the fatal attack, police say

Police say they have arrested five people over the brutal killing of a scrap trader outside Dhaka’s Sir Salimullah Medical College Mitford Hospital.

Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Lalbagh Division Deputy Commissioner (DC) Mohammad Jasim Uddin shared the development at a press conference at the DMP Media Centre on Saturday.

He said two of the five were arrested by the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB).

The murder took place on Wednesday afternoon in front of Gate No. 3 of the hospital, where Md Sohag alias Lal Chand was killed in public using a concrete block.

Sohag ran a business dealing in scrap and old electrical wires.

According to police and local residents, those involved in the attack, as well as those suspected of orchestrating it, were known to the victim.

Several were once his business associates.

The nature of the killing stunned people who had known them personally, as even those familiar with the rivalry did not expect it to turn this violent.

The victim’s sister Manjuara Begum lodged a case the following day.

Mahmudul Hasan Mohin, 41, and Tarek Rahman Robin, 22, were arrested first. A foreign-made pistol was recovered from Robin.

On Friday, RAB arrested two suspects identified with single names -- Alamgir, 28, and Monir, known as “Lomba Monir”, 32 -- from Ibn Sina Hospital in Keraniganj.

That night, police arrested another suspect Titon Gazi, 32.

“This incident stemmed from business rivalry in the scrap trade and long-standing personal disputes,” said DC Jasim.

Widespread outrage followed after graphic footage of the killing spread across social media.

In the video, a nearly naked and bloodied youth is seen being dragged out through the hospital gate.

One man slaps him, another jumps on his chest.

A third kicks him in the head, then strikes him with a nearby concrete block.

Though the case is under the jurisdiction of the local police station, other agencies are also working on the investigation, the officer noted.

In the wake of the killing, the BNP expelled five members of its affiliated organisations Jatiyatabadi Jubo Dal, Swechchhasebak Dal, and Chhatra Dal for their alleged involvement in the incident.