Rivalry over post got him killed

Rizvi Hasan, who died of his bullet wounds early yesterday, was a victim of internal feud of Ward-10 Jubo League, the youth wing of the ruling Awami League, according to police and locals.

Internal feud over establishing supremacy in the Motijheel AGB Colony and its adjacent areas and vying for the general secretary post of the local unit of Jubo League got Rizvi killed, his fellow activists claimed. 

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They, requesting not to be named, said Rizvi was loyal to a faction of the unit once led by slain Jubo League leader Reazul Haque Khan Milky.

Milky was murdered allegedly by his rival faction in 2013.

They said Rizvi had enmity with Anwar Hossain Milon, the incumbent general secretary of the unit. Milon belongs to the faction accused of killing Milky, they claimed.

A fully-fledged committee for the unit was due in couple of months and Rizvi was a top contender.

Rizvi, 34, a father of two, died at a city hospital at 2:30am yesterday, around three hours after he was shot by unidentified criminals at the Motijheel AGB Colony.

Locals said Rizvi along with fellow activist Ahsanul Haque Emon was standing in front of the office of Motijheel Samaj Kalyan Jubo Sangha, which has been used as a temporary office of his Jubo League faction.

Before his death, Rizvi is said to have mentioned a few names of his killers before his family members at the hospital.

Milky, 43, the then organising secretary of the Dhaka city (south) unit Jubo League, was shot dead allegedly by a party man in the capital's Gulshan area in July 30, 2013.

The alleged murderer, Jahid Siddique Tarek, joint secretary of the same unit of Jubo League, was killed in a “shootout” between his cohorts and Rab in the capital the next day.

Zahidul Islam Tipu, former general secretary of Awami League's Motijheel unit, had been named a top accused along with a few other Jubo League men. However, Tipu's name was dropped from the charge-sheet submitted by Rab.

Wishing not to be named, a local Jubo League activist said about eight to 10 criminals opened fire on Rizvi and Ahsanul, leaving them critically injured.

They fired 10 to 12 bullets, said the activist, who was a few yards away from the scene.

He claimed that he could recognise four to five of the criminals but refused to disclose their names.

Another activist said 10 days before Eid, the rival faction vandalised the Jubo Sangha office, which has been used as the office of the faction loyal to Milky, and took valuables, including cash.

Locals said although Rizvi had been living with his family in Bashabo area, he was raised in the colony. He was involved in garment-related trade in the area.

After an autopsy at Dhaka Medical College morgue, his body was taken to Motijheel AGB Colony where a namaj-e-janaza was held in the afternoon.

He was supposed to be buried in Azimpur graveyard.

Ahsanul Haque Emon, who was shot along with Rizvi, was undergoing treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital, said hospital sources, adding that he had three bullet wounds.

Tareq bin Rashid, additional deputy commissioner (Motijheel division) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), said they suspect that Rizvi was killed due to enmity between two rival factions.

He said Rizvi was accused in several cases, including arms, murder and police assault cases. He was on bail in some of the cases, said the police official.

The police official said rival factions filed separate cases in connection with the vandalism of the Jubo Sangha office and the accused were on bail.

DC Anwar Hossain of Motijheel division of DMP said none was arrested in connection with Rizvi's murder and that a case was yet to be filed.

Contacted, Tipu said his name had been falsely implicated in the Milky murder case. “Now people are accusing me of killing again to harass me,” he told The Daily Star over phone.

He said he was out of town and had only heard about the killing after returning to Dhaka yesterday morning.

According to locals, the AGB Colony, adjacent to the capital's commercial hub Motijheel, has been a lucrative area for goons and extortionists as there are various sources to earn illegal money there.