Law enforcers on Sunday were uncertain over the motive behind the murders of controversial pir Lutfur Rahman and five others in a flat in Dhaka’s Gopibagh area on Saturday evening.
Investigators from the elite Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and detective branch of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) suspected that the gruesome killings may have been fallout of either religious fanaticism or previous enmity. They also did not rule out the idea of a family dispute over property. Col Ziaul Ahsan, RAB’s additional deputy director (Operations), said, “Lutfur Rahman was detained by police on charge of religious misinterpretation in 2007. He was again arrested in 2009.” It is gathered that police had also lodged a case against him in 2011 and he was imprisoned for a few months.
Mehedi Hasan, additional deputy commissioner of police (Wari Zone), said, “Lutfur was a very controversial pir and the killers may belong to a religious fanatic group.”
Hasan said the police have detained six persons so far. “We have handed over the six detainees to the detective branch, which will investigate the case. We will extend all cooperation to the investigators,” he added.
Meanwhile, law enforcers were deployed inside and outside the house to protect the other family members and also search for remaining clues. They also kept an eye over the huge number of the pir’s disciples, mostly women, who gathered at the house to condole the deaths.
On Saturday night, Lutfur’s youngest son, Abdullah Al Faruk, had lodged a case against 12 unnamed killers in connection with the sensational murders.
Talking to The Independent on Sunday afternoon, Faruk said, “We do not have any family dispute with anyone. But due to my father’s stand against extremism, fundamentalists might have killed him, my brother and the four others.”
Other family members also suspected the hand of militants and hinted that some of the pir’s disciples may have been involved in the murders. However, Lutfor’s wife Salma alleged that the killers had also looted a huge amount of cash from the house.
The bereaved family said Lutfur claimed to be Imam Mehedi and gathered disciples under the banner of Hisbul Mehedi. Police sources said he was attacked by religious extremists in the past for his controversial interpretations of Islam.
Several disciples said the pir had told them that there were no directives on praying five times daily in the Quran. Instead, he prayed only twice a day and did not offer “sejda” during prayers. Contrary to normal rituals, Lutfur believed in meditation followed by a prayer, they added.
Azizur Rahman Babul, who runs a vegetable shop in Dhaka, said, “The pir wrote a book, ‘Abba Allah, Imam Mehedi Hujatullah’ and I became his follower after reading it. I have been his disciple for over 10 years.”
According to Babul, Lutfur was against killing of animals, but he used to eat beef. “He fasted from September 9 to October 8 every year,” he added.
“Earlier, I had stayed with my pir but was arrested by police in 2011. After that, I lived in a separate residence in city but regularly visited his house,” he said.
Sources said Lutfor hailed from Vourerchar village in Tangail district’s Bhuapur Upazila.
According to Zahangir Alam, a villager, Lutfor served in Bangladesh Army and later joined a garments factory as an officer. Later, he established a plastic factory. But he suddenly left the business and turned towards spirituality. He visited his native village for the last time in 1998.
He had called a rally with his disciples at Hemnagar Degree College under Goplapur Upazila. However, locals had protested against it. This had forced the local administration to foil the rally by imposing Section 144.
Later, Lutfur was forced to quit his village following local protests. Since then, he was residing in Dhaka.
-With The Independent input
