Freedom fighter killed not by robbers but by son

Abdul Halim, a freedom fighter, was the victim of a murder planned and partly executed by his son who then tried to pull the wool over law enforcers' eyes by staging the crime scene to look like a robbery.

On February 1, police recovered Halim's body at his home in Narayanganj's Fatullah and found his son, HM Masud, with his arms and legs bound.

Masud then told police that robbers had tied him up and killed his father.

But in reality, Masud had hired a killer, Rubel, and together they strangled Halim in his sleep and ransacked the room.

Police Bureau of Investigation came up with the findings after arresting Rubel and inspecting CCTV footage that they recovered.

Rubel used to help the family out with household work from time to time.

"Masud planned the murder to embezzle Tk 30 lakh that his father withdrew from the bank recently. He wanted to cheat his sisters," Monirul Islam, superintendent of PBI in Narayanganj, told reporters at PBI headquarters in Dhaka today.

Arrestee Rubel. Photo: Collected

He added that after Halim was strangled to death, Masud instructed Rubel to tie him up so that it looked like a robbery.

A PBI team on February 11 arrested Rubel, who went into hiding after the murder, from his sister's house in the capital's Jatrabari.

He gave a confessional statement before a magistrate, revealing Masud's involvement in the murder.

PBI is now trying to arrest Masud, Monirul said.

The PBI official said Masud hired Rubel for Tk 5 lakh to help him kill his father at home at Dharmaganj Maula Bazar area in Fatullah.

As part of their plan, Masud kept the collapsible gate of the building, as well as the entrance to the flat open on January 31. Rubel entered the house around 10:00pm.

The two of them went into Halim's room when the 72-year-old fell asleep around 11:00pm.

Masud held down the hand and legs of his father with a mosquito net while Rubel grabbed Halim's throat and neck to kill him. As the victim screamed for help, Rubel smothered him by pressing a pillow on his face, the PBI SP said.

Masud later even measured his father's blood pressure to confirm his death, he added.

Masud then took the money from the cupboard and gave Tk 5 lakh to Rubel and handed the CCTV storage drive to him to destroy it. As part of their plan, Rubel then tied up Masud's hands and legs and went into hiding after burying the digital video recorder (DVR) under a pile of garbage next to the house, PBI officials said.

The PBI said they seized Tk 4.43 lakh from Rubel's possession during the drive and based on his information they also recovered the DVR from the spot.