Dhaka, July 12: The brutal murder of 43-year-old scrap trader Lal Chand Sohag in Dhaka has not only shocked Bangladeshis but several people around the world, who have slammed the Mohammad Yunus-led interim government for the sheer lawlessness that currently prevails in the South Asian country.
The ghastly murder took place on Wednesday (July 9) in front of Sir Salimullah Medical College Mitford Hospital in Dhaka. Sohag, who ran a business called Sohana Metal, held a strong grip on the market.
His rivals, Mahmudul Hasan Mohin and Sarwar Hossain Titu, allegedly demanded a 50 per cent stake in the business or regular payments in its place. For the past two-three months, the accused had been demanding a large sum of extortion money from Sohag every month.
On Wednesday, when they found Sohag alone, Mohin and four-five others attacked him, hitting him with stones and beating him mercilessly after stripping him naked causing severe injuries to his head and other parts of the body.
Sohag, the only breadwinner of the family, died on the spot and the gruesome video of his killing has now gone viral on social media. Not surprisingly, there was no intervention from the public and nobody stopped Mohin out of fear because he was a candidate for the position of General Secretary of the Chawkbazar unit of the Bangladesh Jatiyatabadi Jubo Dal (Youth Wing of Bangladesh NationalistParty-BNP).
There are also allegations against him of extorting money from vendors on the footpath near Mitford Hospital and from chemical traders. It is also rumoured that he recommended people for class-three jobs at the hospital in exchange for large sums of money. Sohag was lured from his shop to the hospital compound under the pretense of a peace meeting, only to be ambushed by a group of 40 to 50 men, Sohag’s relatives said.
Both the victim and several of the accused were reportedly involved in the local Jubo Dal, the BNP’s youth wing. A case over the murder was filed on Thursday, July 10, at the Kotwali police station in the capital. The victim’s sister, Manjuara Begum (42), filed the case. Nineteen individuals were named in the FIR, while another 15 to 20 unnamed persons were accused.
Meanwhile, Asif Nazrul, Law Advisor in the interim administration, said on Saturday that the case will be transferred to the ‘Speedy Trial Tribunal’ and arrangements would be made to ensure the trial of the incident is conducted in the shortest possible time. Since Muhammad Yunus took power in Bangladesh in August 2024, there have been numerous unprovoked and violent attacks against journalists, police officers, minorities and those connected with the Awami League Party.
There are allegations of killings, arbitrary imprisonment on false criminal charges, particularly of journalists, unchecked mob violence, and incitement of religious violence, such as attacks on Bangladeshi Hindus and the destruction of Hindu temples. No steps have yet been taken in Bangladesh to hold the perpetrators of these allegations to account. IANS