Rickshaw van driver found dead with throat slit in Khulna

It is assumed that the miscreants attempted to flee with his vehicle after killing him

A rickshaw van driver has been killed by having his throat slit at Gazirhat in Dighalia Upazila, Khulna.

Sub Inspector Jamil, chief of the Majhirgati police outpost, said the incident occurred around 9pm on Saturday near Molladanga of Gazirhat Union.

The deceased, 40-year-old Samir Bhatta, hailed from Ketla village in Gazirhat Union, Dighalia.

Police said that around 9pm on Saturday, Samir was travelling towards Barasat along Molladanga Road with a few others. En route, miscreants posing as passengers slit his throat with a sharp weapon and abandoned him on the road.

Alerted by his groans, people rushed to his aid and rescued him in a bloodied state, but he succumbed to his injuries at the scene shortly thereafter.

Md Shah Alam, chief of Dighalia Police Station, said they received information from local residents about the body of a van driver named Samir lying at the scene.

Police were subsequently dispatched to recover the body; following an inquest report, it was sent to Khulna Medical College Hospital for a postmortem.

Police officer Alam said, "The victim's van was recovered at a short distance from the murder scene. It is assumed that the perpetrators attempted to flee with the vehicle after committing the murder. The matter is being investigated seriously."

Khulna has been experiencing escalating activities by different criminal groups in recent times.

Last Thursday, a man named Hasan Sheikh—alias 'Bihari Hasan'—died while being transported to Dhaka for advanced medical treatment after being attacked by rivals near Jabusa in Khulna’s Rupsa.

On Friday evening, a tenth grader was shot in the Rupsa Natun Bazar embankment area of Khulna city.

On Jul 2, a young man named Ratul Sheikh was injured by gunfire from miscreants in the Ashibigha Balur Math area under the city's Labanchara Police Station. On the night of Jun 29, a man named Rafiqul Islam was injured by gunfire from miscreants in the city's Gollamari area.

According to police data, 89 murders have occurred over the 23-month period from August 2024 to date. Nineteen murders took place in the first six months of this year. Various terrorist groups are implicated in 34 of these killings.