Rafiqul Islam Biplob, Gazipur

Hasibul Islam Badsha (40) was murdered before he could enter the gate of his house after finishing his vacation. The victim was one of the four children of the same family who were orphaned and the wife was the widow. According to the relatives of the deceased, almost all of the accused in this incident are around 20 years old. The family is crying non-stop. Those who are going to visit are also crying.

The incident took place in the Kewa Paschimkhanda (Mosque Corner) area of Sreepur Municipality in Gazipur at around 3:45 am on Thursday morning. Hasibul Islam Badsha is a medicine trader in the area. Jahangir Alam, Sub-Inspector (SI) of Sreepur Police Station confirmed the matter.

According to the victim's wife Mahmuda Akhter, incidents of rickshaw pullers and pedestrians being stopped and beaten and robbed often occurred on the road next to the house day after day. After midnight, no one can move freely on the road next to the house. I did not dare to tell anyone about these things. Finally, that incident happened to my family. Which was more terrible than other nights. This time my husband was killed and four children were left orphans. The earning person of the family was gone and the family became orphans and widows. My eldest daughter has now passed the fifth grade. I will now admit the next daughter to school. And the two children have not spoken properly. Now we are spending every moment in the dark of the future.

While describing the incident, she said that she had gone to her father's house in Dhaka with her children during the school holidays. At the time of the incident, as soon as they arrived in front of the house, several teenagers around 20 years old started abusing them in foul language.

At one stage, they snatched her ornaments. When her husband Hasibul Islam called the teenagers by their names and requested them not to do such things, they started punching and kicking her repeatedly. At one point, the attackers fled when he fell to the ground. Later, with the help of locals, he was taken first to the Mauna Chowrasta Al Hera Hospital and then to the Sreepur Upazila Health Complex, where the doctor declared the drug dealer Hasibul Islam dead.

Locals said, the deceased Hasibul Islam is the son of Abdul Hai of Ilohar village in Banaripara upazila of Badsha Barisal. He bought land in the Mauna (Mosque intersection) area of Sreepur Municipality about a decade ago and has been living with his wife, three daughters and a son. He used to run a drug business with a mother-son pharmacy in the Mosque intersection area. Hasibul would rush to the area whenever he received news of the danger of the locals and would provide first aid. He was known as a good person to everyone in the area. He had no conflict with anyone.

The arrested are Antar (20), a member of the Kishore gang, son of Ali Akbar, from the Mauna (Mosque intersection) Dargarchala area, and Ruman (20), son of the deceased Nizam Uddin.

Jahidul Islam Shimul Hossain, brother-in-law of the deceased Hasibul Islam and microbus driver, said, "I came to the house at Maona Chowrasta (Mosque intersection) around 2:30 am from my relative's house in Dhaka. After the women got out of the car, Rubel, the head of the juvenile gang, and his 7/8 associates stood in front of the microbus. Then Rubel told his nephew (Hasibul) to go away. Aren't you close to me? As soon as he said this, Rubel and 2/3 of his nephews started punching the nephew until he fell to the ground. The others with him broke the gate of the house and snatched the necklace from the neck of the deceased's wife Mahmuda Akter and sister-in-law Salma Akter. At this time, the juvenile gang members beat up Salma's husband Hanif (29) for stopping him.

The deceased's wife, Mahmuda Akhter, said that Rubel, the head of the juvenile gang, and his friends were drug addicts. My husband repeatedly introduced them and called Rubel his nephew. He patted Rubel on the head and back and requested him to leave. They did not listen to my husband's request and started beating him with sticks, punches and sticks. Rubel and his associates broke the gate of the house and entered inside, humiliated me and my younger sister and snatched the gold chain from around his neck.

Later, when Hasibul Islam was taken to the local Alhera Hospital, the doctor advised him to be taken to the Sreepur Upazila Health Complex immediately. When he was taken to that hospital, the doctor declared him dead.

Asmaul Husna, the doctor on duty at the Sreepur Upazila Health Complex, said that Hasibul Islam was brought dead to the hospital by his relatives at that time of night.

Sreepur Police Station SI Jahangir Alam said, the attackers Antar and Ruman have been arrested. The body of the deceased has been recovered and sent to the Gazipur Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmed Medical College Hospital morgue for autopsy.

Sreepur Police Station OC Joynal Abedin Mondal said that Hasibul was attacked when he came from his relative's house in Dhaka to his house in Maona, Sreepur late at night. Antar and Ruman, who were directly involved in the attack, were arrested that night. Efforts are underway to arrest the attacker, Rubel, and his other accomplices. A case is under process in this regard.