Police have said that they believe AFM Kamal, former health secretary of the BNP’s Sylhet district unit, was murdered over a business dispute.
A Chhatra Dal leader has been detained on suspicion of being involved in the killing, said Azbahar Ali Sheikh, deputy commissioner (north) of Sylhet Metropolitan Police. Police are now trying to arrest the other suspects, according to bdnews24.com.
Kamal, 45, was knifed to death in Sylhet city's Barabazar area at around 8 pm on Sunday. He was a resident of Subidbazar area. Kamal was the former publicity secretary of district Chhatra Dal and GS of Sylhet Law College.
The assailants arrived on two motorcycles, attacked Kamal, and fled, said Sylhet Airport Police Station chief Khan Mohammad Mainul Zakir. An injured Kamal was rushed to Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College hospital in critical condition where the on-duty doctor declared him dead.
Eyewitnesses said Kamal was travelling by car when the group stopped the vehicle and attacked him.
Following the murder, angry leaders and activists of Mahanagar Chhatra Dal brought out a procession, brandishing sticks, at around 11 am. They clashed with Chhatra League activists in the Rikabi Bazar area.
A billboard with photos of Bangabandhu and Sheikh Hasina, shutters of some shops and a private car were vandalised near Nazrul Auditorium in Rikabi Bazar during the clash. A motorcycle was also set on fire.
Later, officers from Kotwali Police Station arrived at the spot and brought the situation under control, said Azbahar Ali.
Awami League leaders held an immediate rally near the auditorium protesting the vandalism of Bangabandhu's photo.
"BNP terrorists have the audacity to vandalise the photos of Bangabandhu and Sheikh Hasina. If the criminals are not arrested by tonight, we will block BNP’s Sylhet divisional meeting from taking place," said Prof Zakir Hossain, general secretary of the metropolitan Awami League.
Kamal used to run a travel agency, Azbahar said. Police came to know that he was embroiled in a dispute with some people over the business.
"The two sides clashed near Al-Marjan Shopping Centre in Zindabazar area on Oct 15 over the dispute. The next day, BNP leader Azizur Rahman Samrat filed a case with Kotwali Police Station against Kamal and others.”
Azizur Rahman could not be reached for comments.
Kamal's body is being stored at the Osmani Medical Morgue, said Mainul Zakir. "We conducted a raid and arrested a Chhatra Dal leader named Raju. He is being interrogated.”
District BNP President Abdul Qayyum Chowdhury said that the party will announce a strict programme on Monday morning if the killers are not arrested.
Addressing the law enforcement agencies, he said, "No one should be harassed politically by capitalising on the murder and the leaders and activists of the opposition party should not be repressed."
