Seven people took part in Xulhaz killing: Police

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Bangla Tribune Report
Published : 15:34, Jan 16, 2019 | Updated : 18:43, Jan 16, 2019

25-year-old Asadullah was arrested late on Tuesday (Jan 15), said police.

Seven people took part in the killing of gay rights activist and USAID staffer Xulhas Mannan and his friend Mahbub Rabbi Tonoy at Mannan’s apartment in 2016, Counter Terrorism police unit chief Moninul Islam told the media.

Producing one of the suspects Assadullah before the media on Wednesday (Jan 16), Islam said, “The killers came to Kalabagan from Tongi and prayed at a mosque near Xulhas’s home before carrying out the killing.

Of the seven, five directly took part in the murder while the others were outside keeping watch. All of them belong to banned militant outfit Ansarullah Bangla team, added Islam.

Earlier on Wednesday, Islam, who also heads the probe in the case, produced Asadullah before a Dhaka court with a 10-day remand plea. The court granted three days to grill Asadullah, who was arrested late on Tuesday (Jan 15) from Tongi.

On Apr 25, 2016, the Xulhas and Tony were hacked to death by radicals in the former’s home in Kalabagan. A total of 13 people were linked to the killing and, already, five persons including one Asadullah have been arrested. Another person involved in the killing is Arafat. Reportedly, Asadullah hails from Maheshpur in Jenaidah and studied at Jashore Polytechnic Institute. His father is believed to have been a field level activist of Jamaat.

The police say that Asadullah was also involved in injuring and snatching a weapon from a policeman from capital’s north Badda in 2016.

Police hope to recover the stolen weapon and glean more information about the killing from Asadullah.

Xulhaz’ s family opened a case over the murders the same day of the brutal killing against five to six unidentified men while the police lodged another over the attack on one of its men and the snatching of weapons.

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Xulhaz-Tonoy murder: Another suspect arrested at Tongi

 

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