A security guard of an Al Arafa Islami Bank branch in the port city was hacked to death by suspected robbers sometime yesterday afternoon.

Police recovered the body of the deceased, Md Ibrahim, 45, from inside the bank in the city's Muradpur intersection around 10.00 pm, said SM Tanvir Arafat, additional deputy commissioner of the detective branch of Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP).

The assailants tried to break open the bank's vault but failed, he added.

Police have started an investigation into the murder based on the evidence collected from the spot.

As it was a holiday, the bank remained closed with the security guard inside the office, said Tanvir, adding that the assailants entered the bank after cutting the grill sometime in the afternoon.

The bank officials informed the police as they had not got any response from Ibrahim since yesterday evening despite frequent attempts to reach him over the phone.

Police rushed to the spot on information and found Ibrahim dead, said the ADC.

About three weeks earlier, there was a deadly robbery in the capital's Ashulia branch of Bangladesh Commerce Bank during which robbers killed eight people including the branch manager, raising serious concerns about the bank's security measures.