Staff Reporter:
Customs official Bullet Bairagi whose body was recovered from Cumilla on Saturday morning was killed by an organized robber gang, the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) has said.
“The gang had been lying in wait after Bullet got off a bus at midnight. He was brutally assaulted and later pushed from a moving CNG, leading to his death on the spot,” said Wing Commander Entekhad Chowdhury, Director of RAB’s Legal and Media Wing, at a press briefing held at the RAB Media Cen-tre in the capital yesterday.
Five suspects- Md Sohag, Ismail Hossain Johnny, Imran Hossain Hridoy, Rahat Hossain Jewel and Sujon-were arrested in separate drives in Cumilla.
He said Bullet went missing on April 24night while returning to Cumilla from Chattogram after com-pleting his training.
About 12 hours later, his body was recovered by Moynamoti Highway Police from beside a hotel in Kotbari area on the Dhaka-Chattogram highway at around 8:45 am on April 25. Multiple injury marks were found on the body.
Later, the victim’s mother filed a murder case with Sadar Dakkhhin Model Police Station in Cumilla against unidentified persons.
RAB launched an investigation and intensified intelligence surveillance after the incident.
Based on a tip-off, the elite force conducted drives in Cumilla on April 26 and arrested the suspects, said the RAB official.
During the drive, a CNG-run auto rickshaw used in the crime, a machete, a Swiss gear and a hammer were recovered.
During preliminary interrogation, the arrestees confessed to being active members of an organized crim-inal gang.
They used to target long-distance passengers, pick them up in auto rickshaws, and rob them at weapon-point.
On the night of the incident, the victim got off a bus in the Jagorjhuli area of Cumilla where he was tar-geted by the gang. He was then forced into an auto rickshaw, beaten, robbed, and later thrown from the moving vehicle, causing fatal head injuries.
