Gunmen shoot man dead, injure father

Criminals shot the son of a foreign exchange trader dead and wounded the father in front of their home in Khilgaon of Dhaka last night and took away currencies worth Tk 47 lakh.

Sharif Hossain Simon, 30, died in the attack and his father Israil Hossain, 58, owner of Universal Money Exchange at Motijheel, was wounded.

The father and son arrived home in their car around 8:30pm during a power cut, Moksed Ali, a security guard, told The Daily Star. They park their car in the garage of the building where Moksed works since they do not have parking space in their home.

When the duo went out of the garage to go to their house next door, shots were fired and Moksed saw several men running away leaving the two in a pool of blood.

Israil's driver rushed them to Dhaka Medical College Hospital where doctors declared Simon dead around 9:30pm. He was hit in the chest.

Israil had bullet injuries in his right hand and leg, said DMCH sources. He is now getting treatment at a private hospital.

Fireman Abu Bakar of Khilgaon Fire Station, just across the street, said he heard around seven gunshots but could not see how many people were there.

A bullet was fired towards him and he had to run for cover.

Moksed said Israil was carrying a backpack but it went missing after the attack.

The victims were coming from Motijheel and was carrying the money in the backpack, Simon's cousin SM Sayeed Suki told The Daily Star.

“They brought the money home as they ran out of time to deposit it in the bank,” he said.

He speculated that an organised gang of muggers were involved.

Simon was the only son of Israil. He has been helping his father with his business for several years. He got married last year.

Asharafuzzaman, deputy commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), told The Daily Star that they had information about three suspects riding a motorbike and that they were investigating.