Missing businessman Hassan found dead

Hassan Khaled, president of Dutch-Bangla Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DBCCI), was found dead in Keraniganj yesterday, four days after he had gone missing from Dhanmondi in the capital.

Around 12:00noon, police recovered the decomposed body of Hassan from Signboard area. It was floating near the bank of the Buriganga river, said Ferdous Hasan, officer-in-charge of Keraniganj Model Police Station.

Nazrul Islam Chowdhury Didar, an administrative officer of the DBCCI,

along with Hassan Murad, deceased's younger brother, rushed to the spot and identified the victim.

Didar was contacted through a visiting card found in Hassan's pocket, added the OC.

Police said the body was “abnormally swollen” but they did not see any injury or torture marks anywhere on it.

Talking to The Daily Star, Didar said, “We also did not notice any injury or torture mark on the body.”

Hassan's mobile phones, however, were missing.

Police suspect that the top businessman died some three to four days ago.

After the recovery, the body was sent to the morgue of Sir Salimullah Medical College for autopsy.

A case was filed with Dhanmondi Police Station over the incident.

Dhanmondi police said they were investigating to find out whether it was a murder.

Asked whether they have any suspect, Didar declined to comment.

On Monday, Hassan Murad, the victim's brother, said he could not specifically suspect anyone as Hassan had no enemies.

Yesterday afternoon, the leaders and members of the DBCCI held an emergency meeting to mourn the death of the body's president, Hassan.

Matlub Ahmad, president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), said, “We are shocked.

“I urge all businessmen, chamber and trade body leaders to remain safe and stay alert to avoid any untoward incident,” he said, adding that the FBCCI would hold a commemorative meeting Thursday to remember Hassan.

In a statement yesterday, the apex business body also expressed its concern over the incident.

Hassan, 55, also the chief executive officer of New Era Trading, went missing after he had left his Dhanmondi home around 9:00am on Saturday to buy medicines from a nearby shop.

The family members could not reach him by phone, as it was found switched off. They looked for him in different areas of the capital. Failing to trace him, his brother-in-law Shariful Alam filed a general diary (GD) with Dhanmondi police around 1:00am Sunday.

Hassan was one of the founders of the DBCCI, established in November 1999, and he has been involved in advocating bilateral trade between Bangladesh and the Netherlands.

He had been residing on the third floor of the six-storey building in Dhanmondi over the last three years with his wife and daughter.

A licensee of the Singapore-based retail company Crocodile International in Bangladesh, Hassan opened a showroom of Crocodile products at Bashundhara Shopping Mall in the capital in April.

He used to manufacture Crocodile products like T-shirts, trousers, polo shirts and jeans in different factories in Bangladesh.

He was not involved with any other chamber before becoming the president of the DBCCI.

Hassan was also one of the shareholders in the recently closed Chemico Bangladesh Ltd, a factory which used to produce polythene products and export those to the Netherlands.