UP poll ambition suspected in BNP leader’s murder

A day after BNP leader and sand trader Jakir Hossain was shot dead in Khulna’s Rupsha upazila, police had neither recorded a case nor made any arrests as of yesterday.

Investigators are giving priority to the possibility that his plan to contest the upcoming union parishad election as a chairman candidate led to the killing. They are also looking into possible business disputes.

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Jakir, 43, was shot in a shop in Swalpabahirdia village around 10:30pm on Thursday.

A resident of Khajadanga village under TSB Union, he was also a member of the union BNP’s search committee, formed as part of the party’s organisational restructuring.

Khulna Superintendent of Police Sarker Omar Faroque said investigators were examining whether Jakir had any disputes related to his business.

“He also wanted to contest the upcoming union parishad election. That could also be a reason behind the killing,” he said.

Police were working to establish the motive and identify those responsible, he added.

Jakir’s brother, Abu Sayeed Sheikh, also suspected electoral rivalry behind the killing.

“We suspect that someone who considered him a political rival might have been involved in the killing,” he told The Daily Star.

His wife, Nasrin Begum, said Jakir, who left behind three children, had disputes with several people.

“Just a day before the killing, he had an altercation with a local individual who is a member of a search committee over the purchase of bricks for a school,” she said.

A local resident, requesting anonymity, alleged that Jakir had played a role in the arrest of several Awami League leaders and activists by the administration, which might have created hostility towards him.

According to police sources, two helmeted men arrived in Swalpabahirdia village on a motorcycle from the Faqirhat side of Bagerhat around 10:30pm on Thursday.

They stopped beside a shop where Jakir was sitting. One of them entered the shop and shot him in the head before fleeing towards Faqirhat with his accomplice.

Locals rushed Jakir to Rupsha Upazila Health Complex, where he died while undergoing treatment.

The SP said Jakir’s body was at Khulna Medical College Hospital for autopsy.

Meanwhile, authorities have decided to launch special joint forces operations to curb terrorism and extortion in Khulna amid a series of killings.

The measures include setting up checkpoints on highways and major roads, deploying 200 Ansar members, increasing patrols and intelligence activities, and intensifying a crackdown on unregistered motorcycles.

The decisions were taken at a special meeting of senior law enforcement officials at Khulna Circuit House on Thursday night. Another meeting on the district’s law and order situation was held at the same venue earlier that evening.

Between October 22 and November 12, Khulna witnessed 13 shooting incidents that left six people dead.

Three other murders were reported during the same period, with two victims killed using sharp weapons and another beaten to death.

Of the nine murders, five occurred in Khulna city and four in Rupsha and Dumuria upazilas.

A total of 79 murders were recorded in Khulna between January 1 and November 12 this year, including 39 in the city and 40 in the district.