Kawsar, a third year mathematics student of Dhaka College, was talking to his friend Abdus Sattar, 30, a compact disc vendor, near his shop on Salek Road in Jigatola at about 10:15pm when the gang opened fire, fatally injuring Sattar.

"After a gunshot suddenly rocked the area, I saw Sattar collapsing to the ground," Kawsar said from his Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) bed.

"I ran for cover but fell on the ground with three bullets in my legs."

A local shop-owner took the pair to the DMCH where Sattar died at 11:55pm.

Neither Kawsar nor Sattar's relatives could give the motive for the attack.

In another incident near Mirpur Shah Ali shrine, a gang tried to slit the throat of an unknown youth, aged about 20, last night.

On hearing the cry of the youth, policemen posted nearby rescued him, but the gang managed to get away.

Police admitted the unconscious victim to the DMCH.