A bad mix of teens and power

Police yesterday morning arrested five alleged killers of Adnan Ispar, a teenager who was chased down and stabbed to death on Tuesday in Jamal Khan area of Chittagong city.

The sharp weapon used in the killing was also recovered by police during a raid.

Police made the arrests in separate raids in Fatikhhari upazila and the city's Bahaddarhat area in early hours.

The arrestees are Moin Khan, 18, son of Nurul Islam; Sabbir Khan, 18, son of Mohammad Osman; Abdullah Al Sayed, 18, son of Abdus Sattar; Ekhlas Uddin Arman, 18, son of Mohammad Moktar; and Muntasir Mostafa, 18, son of Mostafa Kamal, said police.

Speaking with The Daily Star, Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) (south) Shah Mohammad Abdur Rauf said the arrestees during primary interrogation admitted that they used a firearm to threaten Adnan before killing him and they had received it from three local political “Boro Bhai” for establishing supremacy in the area.

Police insiders and locals requesting anonymity said the five arrestees are members of a juvenile gang that is involved in extortion and other criminal activities in Chandanpura and Goni Bakery area.

The gang gets political backing from Chawk Bazar thana Awami League leader Abdur Rauf, they also alleged. 

During primary interrogation following the arrests, it was found that Adnan, a ninth grader at Chittagong Collegiate School, was murdered following a brawl between two juvenile groups over playing games at a playground, said investigators.

SM Mostain Hossain, deputy commissioner (DC) of Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP) south zone, at a press briefing said, “The knife was also recovered from the school bag of arrestee Moin who stabbed Adnan over a game-related feud.”

The police were yet to recover a firearm that the killers brandished before stabbing Adnan, the DC also said.

Regarding the AL leader's alleged involvement with the killers, DC Mostain during the press briefing said the police are yet to find any connection of AL leader Abdur Rauf in the murder. However, they would not spare anyone if the person is found to be involved in the killing of Adnan.

After scrutinising CCTV footage collected from around the murder scene, the “police arrested Moin, Nurul, Sabbir, and Sayed from Samitir Haat area in Fatikhhari upazila while Muntasir was arrested from his house in the city's Bahaddarhat area,” he said.

The police are now working on to identify the person who supplied the gun to them, added the DC.

Of the five arrestees, Moin, Sabbir and Muntasir are HSC second-year students at Hazera-Taju Degree College, Ekhlas is a tenth grade student at Holy Flower School and Sayed has appeared in HSC examination from Islamia College.

Sabbir and Sayed are accused in a case filed with Chawkbazar Police Station on December 12, 2017.

Police insiders said Moin, Nurul, Sabbir, and Sayed took shelter at the house of a local top leader of Bangladesh Chhatra League at Samitir Hat in Fatikchhari.

Describing the incident, ADC Rauf said to The Daily Star, “There was a long-standing rivalry between Adnan's group and a group of students at Ideal School and College [ISC] over playing games at the playground of Mohsin College.”

On the day of the killing, being chased out by Adnan and two of his friends, two tenth graders of ISC took the shelter of their senior brothers -- Moin, Sabbir and three others -- at Mejban Khaile Aiyun restaurant.   

The five seniors including Moin and Sabbir later came out of the restaurant and chased down Adnan and his two friends. After they caught up with Adnan a few yards away, Sabbir pointed a gun to Adnan's head while Arman and Sayed kept beating him with sticks, he said.

At one stage Adnan was hit by a CNG-run auto rickshaw in front of ISC where Moin stabbed him from behind. Adnan then ran for his life, but collapsed in front of Dr Khastogir Government Girls' High School and College.

The killers later went inside a room on the third floor of the restaurant and left the place one by one after receiving the news of Adnan's death around 3:30pm.

Around 8:30pm, the five went to Badurtala area of Bahaddarhat and four of them boarded a Fatikchhari-bound bus around 9:00pm, said ADC Rauf.

Adnan's father Adnan Aktarul Azam -- an LGED engineer in Khagrachhari -- on Wednesday night filed a murder case with Kotwali Police Station accusing the five arrestees and six unnamed others. Meanwhile, Adnan's friends and students at Chittagong Collegiate School yesterday staged a demonstration in front of Chittagong Press Club demanding capital punishment to his killers.

This correspondent made several attempts to speak with AL's Chawk Bazar thana unit leader Abdur Rauf for his comments over his alleged involvement with Adnan's killers, but his cell phone was found unreachable till the filing of this report around 10:00pm last night. He did not respond to the text message sent to the same number either.