Kibria killing: Suspect dies in DB custody

A man arrested over the killing of Jubo Dal leader Golam Kibria died yesterday while in the custody of the Detective Branch (DB) of police.

According to police, Moktar Hossain, 40, was declared dead by doctors at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) around 11:00am, shortly after he was taken there from the DB office.

Moktar was arrested in a raid on Thursday. Police said he tried to flee, but was caught with the help of locals, who also beat him. He was taken to the DB office, where he reportedly fell ill around 1:30am yesterday. He was then taken to DMCH, examined, given medication, and discharged before being brought back to the DB office.

Around 10:00am, Moktar was found unconscious in his cell and was again taken to DMCH, where doctors pronounced him dead, police said.

However, Mukta Sikder, wife of Mokter, alleged, "My husband died due to torture in DB custody".

Speaking to journalists at DMCH, she also rejected the police account of his arrest and the claim that locals beat him up while Moktar tried to flee.

"Mokter was detained by DB officers from a tea stall. There were no locals involved," she added.

Mokter's son, Mridul, said he too had been picked up by DB with his father on Thursday. He was released after his father's death.

"They detained both of us and took us to the conference room of Pallabi Police Station, where they tortured my father," he alleged.

He added that when Mokter was taken to DMCH on Thursday night, doctors advised the cops to bring the patient to the hospital without delay.

"My father fell asleep in DB custody while writhing in severe stomach pain, and later DB members found him dead," he added.

Dhaka Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner (Media) Talebur Rahman said a three-member committee has been formed to investigate the death.

Kibria was shot dead by armed assailants in Dhaka's Pallabi area on Monday. His wife later filed a case with Pallabi Police Station, naming five people and accusing seven to eight unidentified others.

On Wednesday, the Rapid Action Battalion said the murder was planned, adding that rivalry with a criminal gang known as the "Four Star Group", as well as political feud with rivals, may have led to the killing.

On Thursday, DB teams carried out raids in Shariatpur and detained three suspects -- Nazrul, Masum, and Zaman, Talebur said. He said the trio admitted involvement and claimed the firearm and ammunition used in the killing were kept with Moktar.

Based on the information, a DB team raided a garage in Pallabi around 6:00pm that day and arrested him. Acting on his lead, DB later recovered eight rounds of ammunition from a nearby rickshaw garage.

The body has been sent to the DMC morgue for autopsy.