Armed extortionists shot contractors Shafiuddin, 28, and Almas Uddin, 32, working on a 1-km stretch of road in Mirpur, at around 11:30am.

Shafiuddin received two bullets in his left hand and Almas Uddin one in the left hand and one in the back. They were taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH).

Sources said the gunmen numbering four included Asgar and Monir of Nababerbagh village.

The assailants had been demanding money from the two men, the victims told our DMCH correspondent.

In another incident, Solaiman, 40, senior principal officer of the Motijheel branch of Islami Bank, was robbed of Tk 10,000, a mobile phone and a wristwatch apparently after being intoxicated near the bank.

Locals found Solaiman lying unconscious on the road and informed his wife after tracing her from their home address in a diary found on the victim's person. He was later admitted to the DMCH.

In another incident at Nawabpur, four muggers stabbed and robbed fish traders Piar Ali Bepari, 50, and Shafi Bepari, 32, of Tk 5,000 near the Lion's Cinema at around 6:00am.

Three policemen were standing near the spot when the incident happened, Shafi Bepari told reporters at the DMCH.

As the muggers were leaving the scene, the two men called out to the police for help, but the police did nothing other than calling a rickshaw to take them to the hospital.

The traders, who came from Fatullah in Narayanganj to buy fish at Swarighat, were admitted to the DMCH two hours after the incident.