Police have made no arrests over Saturday’s murders of six people in a house in the capital’s Gopibagh.
Families of the victims and police say 10-12 people entered the house in the guise of disciples of so-called Pir (saint) Lutfur Rahman Faruk and committed the macabre murders.
Police suspect previous enmity or ‘differences over religious belief’ is the motive while the families say religious fanatics might be involved.
Unknown assailants slaughtered the six, including Faruk, 60, and his son Sarwar Islam aka Monir, on the first floor of a four-storey building at Ramkrishna Mission Road on Saturday evening.
The other victims were the house’s caretaker Monjur Alam aka Monju and Faruk’s followers ‘Shaheen’, ‘Rasel’, and Mojibur Rahman.
The bodies have been kept at the city’s Mitford Hospital morgue.
Lutfur’s younger son Abdullah Al Faruk filed a case late Saturday night accusing 10-12 unidentified people, Wari Police Station’s sub-inspector Zahidur Rahman said.
The Detective Branch of police is investigating the incident.
DB Joint Commissioner Monirul Islam told reporters that Lutfur, who was running a group named Hizbul Mahadi to preach his belief, had been arrested on Oct 13, 2011 on charge of hurting religious sentiment.
“The evidence suggests that it’s a planned murder in which 10-12 people took part,”
He said previous enmity, dispute over land or differences of opinion might be the reasons of the murder.
Police officials said Lutfur sometimes claimed himself as Imam Mahadi and sometimes ‘chief commander’ and he and his disciples performed religious rituals in their own style.
In Islamic eschatology, Mahdi is the prophesied redeemer of Islam who will rule the world for several years before the Day of Judgment and will rid it of evil.
Quoting families, DB official Monirul said one of the killers identified himself before leaving the Gopibagh house.
Investigators were going to examine if the self-identification aimed to implicate anyone in the case, he added.
Though ‘some articles’ have been taken away from the house, police believe it was not a case of robbery.
Wari Police Station OC Tapan Chandra Saha said six people were picked up from the area following the incident but they were released after questioning.
Lutfur hailed from Char Baruri under Bhuapur Upazila in Tangail. His son Sarwar was working at City Bank’s Sadargaht branch.
Sarwar’s wife Ferdousi Talukder Bithi said several disciples of her father-in-law came to the house on Saturday evening when he was in the kitchen.
“Someone slapped me suddenly from behind. Before I could know what is happening, they pasted tapes on my mouth and dragged me to another room.”
Ferdousi said she saw Lutfur and Sarwar lying on the floor with their arms and legs tied.
“I think they killed my father-in-law and husband and others after coming to the house posing as disciples,”
She said the killers confined her and six others including her mother-in-law to a room with their mouths taped.
Mofiz Uddin, a neighbour, said he had rushed to the house hearing cries and saw the bodies in front of the door.
Lutfur’s youngest son Abdullah Al Faruk said ‘religious fanatics’ attacked his father several times as he claimed himself as a commander of Mahdi.
They might have commited the murder, Faruk said.
Victim Rasel, 20, was a student of textile engineering at a private university at Uttara in the capital.
Mojibur, 25, hailed from Baraikandi village in Gazipur and Monjur from Brahmangati village in Sirajganj. –bdnews24.com
