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Published : 18 Mar 2026, 12:02 AM
Rakibul Islam Rakib, a 25-year-old honours student and friend to countless street children, was viciously shot and hacked to death at Shahbagh’s central Shaheed Minar -- the very place he spent hours daily bringing joy to the city’s most vulnerable.
He used to spend hours daily fulfilling their small requests, playing and helping them.
On Sunday night, Rakib was attacked. His father Tarikul Islam Khokon, a staff member at Dhaka University, filed a case on Monday.
The complaint was accepted in court the same day by Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Jewel Rana, with Shahbagh Police instructed to submit a report by May 10, according to Sub-inspector Jinnat Ali of prosecution.
Khokon, whose family includes his wife, a son, and a daughter, expressed his anguish: “We were performing Taraweeh prayers when I received a call that Rakib had been shot. Allah knows who and why killed my son. How can anyone shoot someone at Shaheed Minar?”
He described Rakib as his only son, with a spotless record, who spent nearly hours daily extending help to the needy.
“He was due to start a job after Eid at Borhanuddin College. Before that, they killed him,” Khokon said.
The victim’s mother works in the exam control section of Sheikh Borhanuddin College, and his sister is employed at Dhaka University’s central library.
According to the case, Rakib went to the Shaheed Minar around 8pm on Sunday. Upon parking his motorcycle, he was shot by an unknown individual armed with a firearm and attacked by five to six others wielding knives.
Bystanders rescued him and rushed him to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, where doctors declared him dead.
Khokon demanded the swift arrest of the culprits: “The killer is still at large; what is police doing? May no mother lose her child like this.”
SI Mithu Fakir of Shahbagh Police said the investigation is ongoing.
“No suspects have been apprehended yet, and the motive remains unclear. Once the culprits are arrested, the reason will become clear,” he added.
