Shopping mall looted after Shakil’s funeral in Natore
Photo: Agamir Somoy
A shopping mall owned by an expatriate was attacked, vandalized and looted at Chanchkoir Bazar in Gurudaspur, Natore, following the second funeral prayer for Chhatra Dal leader Shakil Islam. The incident took place at around 11 pm on Tuesday.
CCTV footage showed several young men smashing the shopping mall’s front-facing cameras with wooden sticks. Later, masked individuals broke the shutters, entered the building and looted goods.
Locals said the name of Russell had surfaced as a suspect in the Shakil murder case. He is close to Nuruzzaman Mintu, the son of former Natore lawmaker Aziz, who has been arrested. Angered by these developments, people attacked Rush Megamall at Chanchkoir Bazar.
Eyewitnesses said a protest procession involving around 150 to 200 people began after Shakil’s second funeral prayer. The attack and looting took place as the procession moved toward the Chanchkoir Bazar area. More than 100 masked people broke the shutters and entered the shopping mall. They looted various goods, including cosmetics, shirts, pants, saris, shoes and sandals.
Shakil’s father, Rabiul Karim, alleged that Russell’s name was included in the initial complaint filed in the murder case but was later removed. He said the complaint had been prepared on the advice of lawmaker Aziz. As he could not read or write, he submitted the complaint written by that person to the police station.
Earlier on Tuesday night, Shakil’s body was brought to his home in Gurudaspur after the funeral prayer in Dhaka. A second funeral prayer was held at around 10:30 pm on the grounds of Shaheed Shamsuzzoha Government College in the area.
Nuruzzaman Mintu, the son of a former lawmaker, was taken into the custody of the Detective Branch (DB) of police late Monday night in connection with the Shakil murder case. On Tuesday afternoon, he was shown arrested in the case and produced before the Natore Chief Judicial Magistrate Court.
The investigation officer in the case, Gurudaspur Police Station Sub Inspector Amir Hossain, sought a 10-day remand for questioning. After a hearing, Judge Mahmudul Hasan granted a three-day remand.
Abdul Hannan, officer in charge (OC) of Gurudaspur Police Station, has been withdrawn from his post and attached to the Rajshahi Range following Shakil’s death.
At around 10:30 pm on October 14, Shakil was attacked in front of Noor Academy while returning home on foot from Chanchkoir Bazar. According to allegations, two helmet wearing men fired shots at him. As he ran to escape the gunfire, they chased him on a motorcycle. He was later repeatedly hacked with machetes and Chinese axes in front of the house of Dulal Sarker, a former general secretary of the municipal BNP unit.
Locals rescued the seriously injured Shakil and took him to Gurudaspur Upazila Health Complex. After receiving initial treatment there, he was transferred to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital. As his condition deteriorated, he was taken to PG Hospital in Dhaka for advanced treatment. He died on Monday night while on life support in the intensive care unit (ICU).
