Awami League leader slaughtered outside mosque in Cumilla

The 40-year-old Enamul Haque was involved in a property dispute with some locals

An Awami League leader was slaughtered outside the mosque after Friday prayers in Cumilla’s Adarsha Sadar Upazila in a sequel to a long running dispute. 

The incident occurred on Friday afternoon outside the Jame Masjid in Alekhachar village, said Ahmed Sanjur Morshed, the chief of Kotwali Model Police Station. 

The victim, 40-year-old Enamul Haque, was the organising secretary of a local ward unit of the ruling party, said Ahmed Niaz Pavel, a joint secretary general of Sadar Upazila Awami League. 

Enamul was involved in a property dispute with Kazi Zahirul Islam, Zahirul’s brother Kazi Amanul Islam, and ‘Sayed’ from the same area, Pavel said, citing the family. The property is related to a local madrasa and orphanage, which Enamul had established and served as its secretary. 

The Kazi brothers and their associates dragged him and laid him near the mosque and slit his throat, leaving him critically injured after Jum’a prayers, said Pavel. 

Enamul was first rushed to Cumilla General Hospital and later shifted to Cumilla Medical College Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries around 3:00pm, he said. 

He claimed those involved in the murder were activists of the Jamaat-e-Islami and its student from Islami Chhatra Shibir. 

A video surfaced on Thursday, exposing Zahirul's involvement in drug consumption and gambling, for which he blamed Enamul, according to Pavel. 

This accusation enraged Zahirul and his followers, leading to Enamul's murder, Pavel added. 

Abdullah Al Mamun, in-charge of Cumilla Cantonment Police Outpost, said preliminary information suggests the murder was linked to a property dispute. 

Police have been deployed to the area and they were trying to identify the killers, Mamun said.