A case was filed in Dinajpur yesterday, four days after the death of Bhabesh Chandra Roy, a resident of Basudebpur village in Shahargram union of Biral upazila, bringing murder charges against four named and several unnamed individuals.

Swapan Chandra Roy, 28, son of the deceased, lodged the case under Sections 302 and 34 of the penal code, Abdus Sabur, officer-in-charge of Birol Police Station, told The Daily Star last night.

In the First Information Report (FIR), Swapan stated, "The accused took my father to an unknown location and beat him to death in a premeditated manner."

The four accused are Atikur Islam, 40, Ratan Islam, 30, Munna Islam, 27, and Md Rubel, 28. The FIR also mentions three to four unidentified individuals.

According to the FIR, Atikur and Ratan were locally known for running an informal money-lending business. About a year ago, Bhabesh borrowed Tk 25,000 from Atikur, agreeing to repay it in monthly instalments of Tk 3,250.

However, due to financial hardship, he was unable to make the payments regularly. 

On April 17, around 4:30pm, the accused went to Bhabesh's house on two motorcycles and took him away under the pretext of an urgent discussion.

Learning about the matter, Swapan attempted to reach his father on the phone but failed to establish contact, reads the FIR.

Swapan further alleged in the FIR that the accused had been pressuring Bhabesh over repaying the loan, which caused him to fall ill.

At around 7:47pm, the same day, Swapan received a call from his father's phone. Ratan was on the line, informing him that Bhabesh had fallen sick.

The accused later transported Bhabesh to Fulbarihat from Narabarihat in a van, then abandoned the vehicle at an isolated spot and fled.

Family members subsequently took him to Dinajpur Medical College Hospital, where doctors declared him dead.

Swapan suspects that the accused beat his father to death in a planned way, as mentioned in the FIR.

Bhabesh was a farmer by profession and also served as the vice-president of the Birol unit of Puja Udjapan Parishad, according to the FIR.

Md Marufat Hossain, superintendent of police in Dinajpur, told The Daily Star, "The victim's son has filed a case. We are taking the matter seriously and conducting a thorough investigation."