Man stabbed to death outside shisha bar in Dhaka’s Banani

31-year-old Rahat Hossain Rabbi was attacked by a group as he left the bar early on Thursday morning, police say

A man has been stabbed to death outside a shisha bar in Dhaka’s Banani.

The incident occurred on the stairway leading up to “360 Degree” shisha bar around 5:30am on Thursday.

The victim, 31-year-old Rahat Hossain Rabbi, was taken to the hospital in critical condition, where a doctor declared him dead, according to Rasel Sarwar, chief of Banani Police Station.

Rabbi lived in the Mohakhali area. Police believe that he knew his attackers.

OC Rasel said, "Rabbi and the accused often went to the shisha bar. As he was leaving the shisha bar, Rabbi had an argument with four to five other people on the stairs leading to the second floor. At one point, Rabbi was stabbed three times in the left thigh and once in the right arm.”

No arrests have been made over the incident yet, but efforts are underway to identify and apprehend those involved by analysing CCTV footage.

Footage from the scene shows that Rabbi is first surrounded by three people as he is coming down the stairs. Then he is stabbed. One of the attackers is also seen hitting Rabbi with an object.

Rabbi attempts to move backwards towards the elevator, and one of his attackers can be seen throwing something at him. Finally, another attacker came and stabbed Rabbi near his right elbow before going down the stairs.

Rasel said Rabbi’s body has been sent to Dhaka Medical College Hospital for a post-mortem.