As the Dhaka city polls draw nearer, councillor aspirants in the capital are reportedly hiring contract killers to intimidate or even assassinate their rival candidates, police have said.
Detectives made the discovery following the arrests of three alleged arms traders and two suspected contract killers in the city yesterday.
DB chief Monirul said Sagor had ordered the weapons in a bid to kill two councillor candidates of Dhaka South City Corporation
Monirul Islam, joint commissioner of Detective Branch of police, said the arrests were made as part of a special drive to recover illegal arms ahead of the city corporation elections.
“Last night, a team of Detective Branch police first arrested arms traders Emdad Hossain, 22, Delowar Hossain, 24, and Chan Miah, 45, from the capital’s Jatrabari and recovered two weapons, three [bullet] magazines and 12 rounds of bullets from their possession,” said Monirul.
During primary interrogation of the detainees, the alleged arms traders – all hailing from Chapainawabganj – told the police that Dakat Sagor had made an order to buy weapons from them.
The detainees also told the police they were supposed to deliver the shipment of weapons to one of Dakat Sagor’s associates named Al-Amin Akash.
The DB team then conducted a separate drive in Waise Ghat Road in Kotwali to arrest 24-year-old Sagor Hossain alias Dakat Sagor and 23-year-old Akash. During their arrest, one weapon, eight bullets, two magazines of bullet and one machete was recovered from their possession.
Addressing a press conference at the DMP media centre, DB chief Monirul said Sagor had ordered the weapons in a bid to kill two councillor candidates of Dhaka South City Corporation.
“We primarily got confirmation that Sagor was hired by the targets’ rival candidates, but we are yet to verify their [targets or the hirers] names,” Monirul added.
He, however, did not disclose how much Sagor had charged his employers for offering to kill the candidates; the location where the contract was reached was also not disclosed by the police.
Commenting on the notoriety of Sagor, the DB chief said the culprit had eight cases filed against him with different police stations in the capital.
Sagor had gained notoriety after the death of his alleged mentor – Dakat Shahid – and had been establishing his influence in the crime world by claiming to be the successor of Dakat Shahid, he added.
Asked whether any top criminal was working behind the scene to control the contract killing gangs, Monirul said the police had information that some of the most wanted criminals were active from their hideouts to establish dominance in the crime world.
The activities of these fugitive criminals escalated especially ahead of the elections, the police official added.
“We would place the arrestees in remand to learn whether or not these groups had any link with top criminals,” says Monirul.
Monirul further said the police had information that the illegal import of weapons for such activities had seen a sharp rise in recent times.
Source: Dhaka Tribune
