Red alert issued to bar Rifat’s killers from leaving country
Red alert has been issued at the country’s international airports, land ports and maritime ports so that the murderers of Rifat Sharif, the young man from Barguna, cannot leave the country, police headquarters said on Friday morning.
“The authorities of all of the concerned airports, land ports and maritime ports have been asked to take necessary action so that those accused in Rifat Sharif’s murder cannot leave the country,” assistant inspector general (AIG, media) Sohel Rana of the police headquarters told Prothom Alo.
Earlier on Thursday, the High Court (HC) gave a verbal order to ensure that the accused cannot cross the country’s borders.
An HC bench of justice FRM Nazmul Ahsan and justice KM Kamrul Quader gave the order after the Supreme Court lawyer Ruhul Kuddus drew the court’s attention to the matter.
The court expressed regret at the social degeneration leading to such matters.
Prime minister Sheikh Hasina also ordered the law enforcement agencies to arrest the accused at any cost, road transport and bridges minister Obaidul Quader told the media at secretariat on Thursday.
The police have informed the media that three have been arrested in connection with the murder so far.
On Friday, the law enforcement agencies released four young men who were detained on suspicion of involvement in the murder of Rifat Sharif.
Police freed them as there was no evidence of their involvement in the incident.
Rifat Sharif, 22, was hacked to death by a group of young men in front of his wife in the district town of Barguna on 26 June.
The entire incident was captured on a surveillance camera. It was seen in the footage that the attackers were hacking Rifat with machetes indiscriminately while his wife Ayesha Siddiqua was frantically trying to save him.
However, the attackers pushed her aside and continued to hack him, leaving him drenched in blood.
Rifat’s father Abdul Halim filed a lawsuit against 12 including Sabbir, Rifat, Rishan and four to five unnamed people on Wednesday in connection with the murder.
