2 suspects 'confess' machete attacks

An arrested Ansarullah Bangla Team “operative” has confessed to be one of the six youths who directly took part in the murder attempt on publisher Ahmedur Rashid Tutul in Lalmatia last year, sources said.

Meanwhile, a Shibir leader “confessed” his involvement in the killing of Hindu priest Ananda Gopal Ganguly in Jhenidah, said police.

ABT “operative” Sumon Hossain Patwari alias Shihab, 20, confessed his crimes before Metropolitan Magistrate Ahsan Habib yesterday, said court sources.

Inspector Bahauddin of the Detective Branch (DB) of police produced Shihab before the magistrate. 

Shihab said their intention was to kill the publisher but they had to flee in fear of getting caught by locals, said the sources, adding that Shihab had stabbed Tutul thrice.

Shihab was among six youths whose photographs were released by the Dhaka Metropolitan Police on May 19, with bounties.

Police claimed that they were involved in the killings of bloggers, writers and an LGBT rights activist.

Shihab had a Tk-2 lakh bounty on him.

On October 31 last year, Tutul and two bloggers Ranadipam Basu and Tareque Rahim came under a machete attack at their office Shuddhoswar in Lalmatia. Tareque was also shot in the chest. The trio survived the attack after receiving treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

On the same day, another publisher Faisal Arefin Dipan of Jagriti Prokashani was stabbed to death inside his office in Aziz Super Market in Shahbagh.

JHENAIDAH CONFESSION

Arrested Shibir leader Enamul Haque, 25 of Armukh in Jhenidah made a confessional statement before Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Fahmida Jahangir yesterday afternoon, said police.

Enamul is the Islami Chhatra Shibir Jhenidah Municipality Ward-2 secretary and a student of Rajendra College in Faridpur, Altaf Hossain, superintendent of police of Jhenidah, said at a press briefing at his office last night.

The SP claimed that Enamul, arrested early Monday at the capitals Gabtoli, confessed that he along with five to six people took part in the Ananda killing mission.

He, however, did not name Enamul's cohorts for “the sake of investigation”.

Officer-in-Charge Hasan Hafizur Rahman of Jhenidah Police Station quoting the arrestee said six more Shibir activists were involved in the killing.

On June 7, three men on a motorbike intercepted Ananda, who was on a bicycle, in Sonakhali area in Jhenidah. The priest was stabbed in the neck and his throat was slit.

He died on the spot.

According to the OC, Enamul was one of those riding the bike.