Businessman dies while escaping police raid

A trader died after falling from the first floor of a building while trying to evade arrest at Bangshal in Old Dhaka early yesterday.
The deceased, Sabed Hasan, 55, was owner of a motor parts shop.
His family said the incident happened when a team of Bangshal police went to their six-storey building at around 1:00am to arrest Sabed, former president of local motor parts traders' association, in a “false mugging case”.
Solaiman Moyna, incumbent president of the association, filed the case against Sabed and eight of his family members over previous enmity.
Within an hour after the case was filed on Wednesday, police arrested Sabed's brother Delwar Hossain and his nephew James, said the family.
The following day they produced the two before a court, seeking a four-day remand. But the court rejected the remand prayer and sent the arrestees to jail.
Speaking in return for anonymity, an accused in the case said, “When police failed to take Delwar and James on remand, they threatened to arrest the other accused and have them on remand by any means.”
He said Sabed fell trying to escape arrest.
AHM Qamruzzaman, additional deputy commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (Lalbagh), told The Daily Star that they were looking into the allegations against police.
He however refuted the claim that the raid was made in a false case.
Police did not enter Sabed's flat on the first floor as his family members told them he was not home, Qamruzzaman said.
He added that they came to know about the death yesterday noon.
Abdul Hai, who lives in a flat next to Sabed's, said, “Hearing a thud, I came out and looked downwards to find Sabed lying on the ground.
“Then I saw four men on four motorcycles in the alley in front of the building.”
Ali Hossain, publication secretary of Bangshal Panchayet, a local body that seeks to resolve social disputes through arbitration, said Sabed was known as a gentleman in the neighbourhood. He was general secretary of as many as seven mosque committees.
“How come police took a mugging case against him and his family members without investigation?” he questioned.
Locals said police seemed very keen on arresting Sabed, whereas they hardly take any action against the identified criminals of the area.
Sabed was buried at the Bangshal panchayet graveyard after Zohr prayers yesterday. No autopsy was done before the burial.
No case was filed yet in connection with the death.
On request from the trader's family, panchayet members and police officials met last night. But nothing about the outcome of that meeting could be known immediately.