Police still clueless in Palash killing

Awami League President Sheikh Hasina yesterday offers prayers with other frontline AL leaders in front of the coffin of Saiful Rasul Palash, a leader of the Bangladesh Chhatra League, who was shot dead Monday. Photo: STAR

Palash's elder brother Moktadur Rahman lodged a case with the Mirpur Police Station at 6:05pm yesterday, but did not accuse anyone. Nor was anybody arrested in this connection till last night.

Unidentified assailants killed Palash, known as SR Palash, general secretary of the city (north) BCL, at a bus-ticket counter at Kalyanpur on Monday. Disabled Bashir Ahmed, peon of a transport company, Sony Enterprise, was also killed in the shootout.

Palash, former president of the Dhaka College unit of the BCL, was buried at the martyred intellectuals' graveyard at Mirpur yesterday. Earlier, his namaz-e-janaza was held in front of Awami League (AL) central office at the Bangabandhu Avenue. A second namaz-e-janaza was held on Dhaka College campus.

Leader of the Opposition in Parliament and AL President Sheikh Hasina and other AL and its front organisation leaders attended the namaz-e-janaza.

Police sources said they are still trying to unearth the motive behind the killing of Palash, but they suspect that the killing could have been a sequel to an internal conflict.

Assistant Commissioner (Mirpur police) Kamrul Ahsan said they might get some clues when a case is filed.

Dhanmondi police said Palash was accused in a case of setting a vehicle ablaze. He was also a witness in BCL leader Dabloo murder case.

In the FIR, Moktadur said an unidentified man came to the counter of Sony Enterprise at about 3:15pm and wanted to know about Palash. The man went out after identifying Palash and soon after that seven to eight persons entered the counter and sprayed bullets on him.