Wrong man killed in 25 lakh taka contract hit; police arrest 8, hunt mastermind

A failed 25 lakh taka contract killing plot targeting a Jubo Dal leader instead claimed the life of another party activist, with police alleging that a local Swechchhasebak Dal leader hired professional shooters to carry out the assassination.

Dhaka Metropolitan Police's Detective Branch (DB) said Monday it had arrested eight people, including four alleged gunmen, over the fatal shooting of Jubo Dal activist Md Yusuf in the capital's Kafrul area. 

The alleged mastermind, Hafizur Rahman Hafiz, alias "CNG Hafiz," remains absconding.

According to DB chief Additional Commissioner Shafiqul Islam, Hafiz, joint convener of the Kafrul unit of the Swechchhasebak Dal, hired contract killers for 25 lakh taka to assassinate Kafrul Jubo Dal Member Secretary Hafizul Islam Babu over a long-running dispute involving garbage collection tenders, footpath control and local dominance.

"The intended target was Hafizul Islam Babu, but the operation went wrong and Jubo Dal activist Yusuf was killed instead," Shafiqul told reporters at a press briefing at the DMP Media Centre on Minto Road.

Police identified the arrested suspects as Nahid Hasan, Shafin Ahmed, Ziarul Molla, Ali Hossain, Jihad Molla, Masum Billah, Abir Howlader and one alleged shooter, Chanchal, who was caught at the scene with a firearm. Investigators said the 11-member team received 50,000 taka in advance as part of the 25 lakh taka contract.

According to the DB, the group first travelled to Dhaka on June 29 and stayed at a hotel in Mirpur-10 before meeting at Hafiz's garage, where two pistols were allegedly supplied by Hafiz's manager, Nahid. The assassination attempt was postponed after one of the weapons accidentally discharged while being loaded.

Police said the group returned to Dhaka on July 22, regrouped the following evening and collected two loaded pistols before taking positions outside Babu's office.

Investigators alleged that Shafin Ahmed and Ali Hossain carried out reconnaissance, coordinated the suspects' escape routes and monitored police movements during the operation.

At around 11 pm on July 24, Babu became suspicious of several unfamiliar men loitering outside his office and attempted to question and search them. One of the suspects then allegedly drew a pistol and opened fire.

Yusuf was shot in the chest and later died at Dhaka Medical College Hospital. Two others, vegetable vendor Nalam Sardar and Monir Hossain, were also wounded and remain under treatment.

During the attack, local residents chased and caught one of the alleged gunmen while he was trying to flee and handed him over to Kafrul police. Officers later recovered a foreign-made pistol and four rounds of ammunition from his possession.

Following a murder case filed by Yusuf's elder brother, DB detectives and Kafrul police launched a joint investigation. Subsequent raids in Dhaka, Magura, Shariatpur and Jashore led to the arrests of the remaining suspects.

Police said Hafizur Rahman Hafiz remains at large, and efforts are underway to arrest him.

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