Hanif was 'killed for money'

Halim Mridha, brother of Hanif Mridha who died in Rab custody hours after being detained near the spot of Friday's suspected suicide blast in Dhaka, yesterday claimed that his brother might have been killed for money.

He made the allegation while talking to reporters at Dhaka Medical College morgue, a day after his family said Hanif was picked up by a group of people claiming to be detectives at Siddhirganj in Narayanganj late last month.

The family also claimed that a little over two weeks after Hanif was picked up, several men in plainclothes and one in Rab uniform took Hanif to their house on March 15. They forced Hanif to sign two cheques worth Tk 6.70 lakh, and then took him away.

Comment form Rab was not immediately available.

“There was no case against my brother. I think my brother has been killed for his wealth. They took money from him. If he were set free, it could create a problem,” Halim said while receiving his brother's body from the morgue.

Demanding a fair investigation into Hanif's death, he said, “There are laws in the country and my brother was not above the laws. If he had committed any offence, he could have been tried and punished. Why has he been killed this way?”

Hanif's friend Sohel Hossain Montu, who was accompanying him at that time, was also picked up and he is still missing, Hanif's family and friends said on Sunday.

Halim filed a general diary with Siddhirganj Police Station on March 4 in this connection, saying that the two were picked up on February 27.

Mufti Mahmud Khan, director of Rab's Legal and Media Wing, claimed on Sunday that Hanif was detained near Rab's Ashkona barrack where a suicide bomber blew himself up.

The suspected bomber, who died instantly, is yet to be identified.