Abu Hanif, khadem (caretaker) of Mayor Mohammad Hanif Jame Mosque, was found dead inside an abandoned room of the mosque on July 3, 2019. Image taken from Prothom Alo

Police recovered a body from an abandoned room of Mayor Mohammad Hanif Jame Mosque in Dhaka’s Azimpur yesterday.

The dead was identified as Abu Hanif, a Khadem (caretaker) of the mosque.

KM Ashraf Uddin, officer-in-charge of Lalbagh Police Station, said the body was found inside a sack and had at least 10 stab marks on it.

Police are primarily suspecting that Hanif was stabbed to death. The body was sent to Sir Salimullah Medical College morgue for autopsy, he added.

A case was filed against four men with Lalbagh Police Station in this connection.

Three of the accused -- Bahar Uddin, 55, Farid Ahmed, 50, and Abul Kalam, 45 -- were arrested yesterday, said police.

Another accused in the case -- Saiful Islam -- has been missing since Tuesday.

Jakir Sheikh, Hanif’s father-in-law, told The Daily Star that Saiful had been threatening the victim with death.

“He [Hanif] wanted to quit his job and get back to his Gopalganj home after receiving last month’s salary. But he was killed before that,” Jakir said.

Hanif, father of a three-month old baby girl, joined the mosque ahead of last Ramadan.