Sagar Biswas :Police have cracked the sensational murder case of muazzin Mowlana Belal Hossain, 52, who was brutally killed by his close associates inside the city’s Jhabbu Khanam Jam-e Mosque, the first-ever fatality inside any Dhaka mosque in the last few decades.The investigators unearthed that, the main reason behind the gruesome killing of muazzin was nothing but to take control of the prayer house for big amount of money transaction, who had been controlling the mosque for the last 28 years.After grilling four arrestees, those have been caught from different parts of the country in a series of raids in the last 48 hours; the detectives also acquired vital information about financial transaction of slain muazzin, who used to lend money to some selected subscribers with high-interest. The murderers admitted that entire killing mission was planned sitting in a mosque in the city’s Keraniganj area.The arrested persons were identified as Habibur Rahman alias Habibullah alias Habib, 20, caretaker [khadem] of the mosque, Hafez Mohammad Mosharraf Hossain, 19, second muazzin of the mosque, Hafez Tofazzal Hossain, 23, and Sarwar Halim, 38, business partner of the victim.The police were also conducting a massive manhunt to nab another suspect in connection with the killing of muazzin at Islampur area in the old Dhaka. “Five persons, directly or indirectly, took part in the killing mission. We have managed to nab four of them, including the mastermind. Another one is absconding. We’re trying to nab him,” Mafizuddin Ahmed, Deputy Commissioner of Lalbagh division, Dhaka Metropolitan Police, said Wednesday. Detailing the background of the heinous crime, the police officer said, “After giving salaries to other employees, Belal Hossain used to deposit rest of the money in his personal bank account, which was earned from different sources in the mosque. Later, he used to invest it in some profitable businesses. He was also involved in lending business in exchange of interest.””Around Tk 42,000 rent is collected from 33 shops in the first and second floors of the mosques per month. Besides, Tk 10,000/12,000 comes from the donation boxes of the mosque. More money also comes while observing religious programmes on different days. Belal alone had been controlling all money transactions in absence of a regulating committee. But caretaker [khadem] Habib and second muazzin Mosharraf could not tolerate such activities of Belal….and they planned to kill him,” the DC of DMP said.According to the investigators, the killers tried to kill Belal at least two times in the last two years, but failed. They, however, made the plan successful in the third time. Just two days before the killing, Habib [khadem] went to his village home in Narail. Later, he directly went to meet Tofazzal Hossain at Keraniganj with an intension to kill.Habib took hiding position inside the mosque on April 3 night. He stabbed Belal in different body parts including abdomen when he [Belal] entered the mosque in the next morning for Fazr azan. He also took away Tk 6,000 and a mobile phone from victim’s punjabee pocket. Of the looted money, he [Habib] gave Tk 2,000 to Mosarraf. After completion of operation, they went to Keraniganj again. Before reaching there, they threw away the knife at a drain adjacent to Babu Bazar bridge. Later, Habib went to his Narail village home again.Being assured of their position, police conducted the drives in the city and outside the capital in the last 48 hours and arrested Habib from Narail, Mosharraf from Netrakona, Tofazzel from Keraniganj and Sarwar from Islampur.Meanwhile, a Dhaka court yesterday placed three of the killers [Habib, Mosharraf and Tofazzal] on a three-day remand each in connection with the murder. Metropolitan Magistrate M Sajjadur Rahman passed the order. The police, however, did not place fourth suspect Sarwar Halim before the court for unknown reason. On April 4 morning, police recovered the blood-stained body of ill-fated muazzin from the staircase between the second and third floor of the mosque with multiple marks of stab injuries in different body parts. Hands of the victim were tied with a piece of cloth.
