A gang of armed robbers shot dead a college student when he tried to prevent them from looting his residence at Jatrabari area in the capital in the early hours on Friday. The slain victim was identified as Bakhtiar Mohammad Latif, 19, an ‘A’ level student of an English medium school. He was the son of Jahid Al Latif Khoka, who resides at House No. 96 of North Jatrabari, close to Sajeda filling station, in the city. Eyewitnesses said Jahid Al Latif, who is the organising secretary of the Jatrabari police station unit committee of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), executive director of Trans Silva Paribahan, secretary of Sundarban Paribahan as well as owner of Sajeda filling station, resided at the house with his aged mother, two housemaids, his wife and his only son.
A group of armed robbers entered the house by scaling its wall early on Friday at around2:00am. On hearing some strange noises, Bakhtiar shouted, asking the intruders to identify themselves. He was immediately shot dead. The armed gangsters entered the house at this point and confined the other members of the family in a room at gunpoint. Soon after, the gangsters broke open two almirahs and took away valuables and gold ornaments. with themselves. The robbery lasted for an hour, till 3:15am.
After the gangsters left, the family members immediately rushed Bakhtiar to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) in a critical condition. Doctors on duty there declared him dead at around 4:00am on Friday.
The victim’s mother, Shamsun Nahar Ferdousi, told The Independent, “We were watching a movie on television at that point of time. Bakhtiar was also with us. His father was asleep on the bed. The door and windows of the room were closed as the air-conditioner was running. Suddenly, on hearing a strange sound, Bakhtiar cried out.”
“As soon as Bakhtiar shouted and asked the intruders to identify themselves, one of the robbers fired a bullet that hit my son. He fell on the floor. When I ran to him, a robber, pointing a gun at me, warned, ‘Don’t shout. This has happened because he shouted’,” a weeping Shamsun Nahar Ferdousi added.
“The injured Bakhtiar asked for water several times, but the gangsters did not let him drink. When we rushed him at the hospital, the doctors declared him dead,” said the grieving mother before passing out.
Jahid Al Latif, the father of the slain victim, told The Independent, “After entering my room, they tied up my hands from behind with pieces of cloth. They had entered the house by scaling its wall and also left the same way.”
“Some unidentified miscreants poisoned my dog to death a couple of weeks ago. I now think the killing of my dog was a part of the conspiracy to commit a robbery and the same gang killed my dog in a bid to enter the house,” Jahid Al Latif added.
The cashier of Sajeda filling station, Mohammad Ershad, said that its owners informed them after the robber fled the house with valuables.
Rafiqul Islam, officer-in-charge of Jatrabari police station, told The Independent, “The robbers could not take away all the valuables from the house. Some valuables were found on the floor of the house when the police visited it in the morning.”
“We primarily suspect the incident to be the result of prior enmity. We are investigating the incident to unearth the mystery,” he added.
Minhazul Islam, senior assistant commissioner of police of Demra division, told The Independent, “A team of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) collected evidence, fingerprints and samples. Members of the intelligence department visited the scene of the crime. We hope to unearth the mystery behind the incident soon.” No one has been detained nor has any case been filed till the time of filing this report on Friday evening.
-With The Independent input
