Two more arrested, main accused still at large

Police in a drive on Wednesday arrested two more accused in connection with the case filed for killing college girl Mukti Khatun, who was set on fire in Santhia upazila, from Sirajganj's Ullapara upazila.

The arrestees are Md Jahedul Islam, 55, one of the masterminds of the brutal killing, and his son Jibon Hossain, 30.

With the recent arrest, the number of arrestees in the case rose to 26 although the prime accused in the case Awami League (AL) leader Abdus Salam is still at large.

Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Santhia Police Station Jahangir Hossain said, after tracking mobile phone location, they raided Rajman Dahpara area in Ullapara upazila of Sirajganj and detained the two.

The arrestees were produced before a Pabna court yesterday that sent them to jail, the OC said.

Mukti Khatun, 22, daughter of freedom fighter Mozammel Haque of Nagdemra village and a second-year student of Philosophy department at Pabna Government Edward College, who suffered 60 percent burns, died from her injuries at Dhaka Medical College Hospital on August 28.

Earlier, on August 19, a group of criminals, allegedly led by Abdus Salam, president of Ward No 1 AL, Nagdemra union unit, attacked Mozammel's house and set fire to Mukti after pouring petrol on her. 

There had been a conflict between Mozammel and his neighbour Salam over capturing a local water body, police said, adding that both groups had clashed several times in the past and filed cases against each other.