A Pabna court today placed a Islami Chhatra Shibir leader on a five-day remand in connection with the killing of Nityaranjan Pande, volunteer of a Hindu Ashram, who was hacked to death by unidentified assailants four days ago.

Md Ariful Islam, Shibir general secretary of Pabna district west unit, was placed on the remand after Abdul Kuddus, officer-in-charge (investigation) of Pabna Sadar Police Station, produced him before the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court with a 10-day remand prayer, our district correspondent reports.

Police detained him on Sunday from a house in Bazitpur area as a suspect in the killing case and seized his mobile phone.

After his arrest, police found several text SMS received in his mobile phone involving the murder of Nityaranjan, OC Abdul said.

Nityaranjan, 60, was hacked to death around 5:00am on Friday when he was taking his regular morning walk about half a kilometre away from the ashram, the latest in a spate of such killings in the country.