SM Mizanur Rahman :Just five days into the killing of an Italian citizen in Dhaka’s Gulshan diplomatic zone, a Japanese national was gunned down at village Alutori in Kawnia upazila of Rangpur district on Saturday morning. The deceased was identified as Hoshi Kunio, 66. He used to run an agricultural project on two acres of land at the village Alutori. There he had been cultivating Napier grass after taking lease of the land.Hoshi Kunio used to reside in a rented house of one Zakaria Bala at Munshipara in Rangpur city. He was gunned down in the same style as Italian citizen Cesare Tavella, 50, was killed on September 28 by some miscreants in the capital’s diplomatic zone. In both cases, the assailants came in motorbike and left hurriedly after spraying bullets on the victims. According to the police and local witnesses, wearing mask two unidentified miscreants in the same style riding a motorbike sprayed bullets on Kunio Hoshi like in the shooting of Italian citizen Cesare Tavella and left the scene hurriedly. Meanwhile, police detained five persons, including Hoshi Kunia’s house owner Zakaria Bala, for interrogation in connection with the murder. The three other detainees are Md Monnaf, a rickshaw puller, Humayan Kabir and Murad Hossain. The name of another detainee could not be known immediately. They hail from different areas of the city, police said. Whenever Hoshi Kunio used to visit Bangladesh, he would stay at Zakaria’s house,” Joynul Abedin, Additional Superintendent of Police of Rangpur district told The New Nation on Saturday. “The victim received bullets at his chest, right arm and neck,” he said. The Additional Police Super said Hoshi Kunio came to Bangladesh through Burimari land port of Lalmonirhat on August 20 this year. Hoshi earlier visited Bangladesh in 2011, he added.When contacted Md Rahat Anwar, Deputy Commissioner of Rangpur said a group of miscreants opened fire on Hoshi Kunio while he was walking on a road in the area around 10:45 am, leaving him critically injured.”The critically injured Kunio Hoshi succumbed to his injuries on the way to Rangpur Medical College and Hospital (RMCH). Members of the law enforcing agencies have been asked to arrest the killers,” he said. “We are doing our level best to net the criminals,” the Deputy Commissioner said. Officer-in-Charge of Kawnia Police Station Rezaul Karim said Hoshi Konio received three bullets.”When Kunio Hoshi was walking alone at Alutori village near Mahiganj, some five kilometers away from the Rangpur city at about 10:00 am, two youths riding a motorbike approached him and opened fire at close range, leaving him a pool of blood,” he said.The OC said, “After the gun shot, Kunio Hoshi fell down on the ground. He was rushed to the RMCH where the attending doctor declared him dead. The body has been kept at the RMCH morgue.” The house owner, Zakaria Bala, told journalists at RMCH that Kunio Hoshi came to Bangladesh four months ago.”Like previous days, he went there to look after his grass field. After receiving his death news I rushed here,” he said. However, Zakaria Bala was detained from the hospital.
