2 more arrestees confess crime

Two arrestees involved in the killing of Phulgazi upazila chairman Ekramul Haq confessed to their crimes in a Feni court yesterday.
The two are Kazi Shanan Mahmud and Chowdhury Md Nafiz Uddin alias Anik.
Another arrestee Helal Uddin, who sheltered the duo and several others, made a deposition before Senior Judicial Magistrate Khairul Amin in the afternoon, said Inspector Abul Kalam Azad, investigation officer of the murder case.
Meanwhile, Phulgazi unit Awami League called a dawn-to-dusk hartal in the upazila for Monday demanding speedy trial of the perpetrators.
In a protest rally in Phulgazi yesterday, party men blamed Feni-2 AL lawmaker Nizam Hazari for his alleged link with the killing and chanted slogans against him, reports our Feni correspondent.
A close aide to Nizam Hazari, Jihad Chowdhury is the alleged mastermind of the gruesome killing. Jihad is the joint general secretary of Phulgazi unit AL.

Ekram, who was president of the same AL unit, was first shot and then burnt alive in his car in Feni town on May 20.
On Tuesday, Abidul Islam Abid, who according to the Rab shot Ekram from close range with a 7.62mm pistol supplied by Jihad, also confessed his crime in the court.
The four, along with three others, were picked up by the Rapid Action Battalion from Helal's house in the capital's Bashundhara on May 23.
Shanan told the Rab that Jihad gave him a pistol. After completing the killing mission, he returned the firearm to Jihad.
He also said Abid and “Ruti” Sohel, another prime suspect in the killing, shot Ekram from close range. Jihad and councillor Shiblu oversaw the killing mission standing just 30 yards away from the spot.
During primary interrogation, Helal told the law enforcers that Sifat, another arrestee picked up from his house, was his school friend, but denied knowing much about the others.
ONE HELD IN KHAGRACHHARI
Police on Wednesday night rounded up Belal Hossain Patwari, AL general secretary of Anandapur union unit in Phulgazi, from Khagrachhari in connection with the murder.
The arrestee went into hiding in Matiranga of Khagrachhari following the murder of Ekram, said Feni police.
Belal, according to locals, was once a close aide to Ekram, but their relations strained following the Phulgazi upazila polls early this year. Locals torched his house in Phulgazi on May 27.
Law enforcers have so far arrested 22 people in connection with the murder, but some key suspects, including “Ruti” Sohel and Bakkar, are still at large.
The two were present at a meeting where Jihad, also known as Jahid, discussed the killing plan.
Also yesterday, the family members of local BNP leader Mahtab Uddin Chowdhury Minar, the lone named accused in the murder case, at a press conference in Feni town claimed that Minar was innocent.
Minar's wife Mahbuba Hasnat Naharin Chowdhury said Ekram was killed over an intra-party feud. She complained that her husband has been implicated in the case as part of a conspiracy and also to save the main culprits.  
Ekram's brother Rezaul Haque filed the murder case with Feni Model Police Station on May 20 against Minar and 34 unnamed people.
In another development, Jubo League activist Ziaul Haque, who was arrested in Daganbhuiyan upazila on Wednesday, was placed on a five-day remand yesterday through a Feni court.