Another suspect arrested over Dipu killing

The Detective Branch of Police has arrested another suspect in the killing of garment worker Dipu Chandra Das at Bhaluka upazila in Mymensingh. 

 Mohammad Yasin Arafat, 25, of Bhaluka was arrested on Wednesday afternoon from Sarulia, an area under Demra Police Station in Dhaka, said Abdullah Al Mamun, Mymensingh additional superintendent of police (administration).

Yasin had been serving as an imam at Sheikhbari Mosque in Kashar and teaching at Madina Tahfizul Quran Madrasa, he said.

“Yasin played a leading role in the murder alongside others. After the killing, he went into hiding and remained on the run for 12 days at different madrasas in Sarulia. He also joined a madrasa named Suffa as a teacher,” Mamun said, citing preliminary investigation findings. 

 Police said Yasin’s role in the murder was confirmed through earlier investigation, eyewitness accounts, descriptions of the tense situation at the factory gate on the day of the incident, and statements of other arrested suspects.

He was arrested with assistance from the Dhaka Metropolitan Police. Drives are continuing to arrest other fugitives linked to the case.

Dipu, 27, a garment worker, was beaten to death and set on fire by a mob in Bhaluka on December 18 last year on allegations of “hurting religious sentiments”.

 His brother Apu Chandra Das filed a case with Bhaluka Police Station accusing 140-150 unnamed persons the next day.

The additional superintendent of police said 21 suspects have been arrested so far in the case. 

 Three key witnesses have given statements under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, while nine accused have made confessional statements in court. 

 Eighteen of the suspects have been sent to jail after completion of remand.