Police finally unearthed the motive behind the murder of blacksmith Habib and arrested the alleged killer on Saturday, four months after the incident at Bumka village in Sadar  upazila.

The arrestee, Ershad Hossain, 35, son of Nurjamal Mia of the village, is a blacksmith and cousin of the victim.

Following Ershad's confession, police recovered the hammer, used as the weapon of murder, from a cropland about a quarter kilometre from the killing spot, said Mozammel Haque, inspector of Sadar Police Station.

After recording Ershad's confessional statement under Section 164, Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Mehedy Hasan Mandal sent him to jail.

Quoting the arrestee, Mozammel said, "Habib and Ershad supplied iron-made items like choppers, knives, axes, sickles, spades and hammers to different areas. Aggrieved over Habib's success in business and setback in his own, Ershad killed Habib on October 26 last year.