A local leader of the Jubo League, the youth wing of the Awami League, was brutally murdered in the early hours of Sunday in the Muradnagar upazila of Cumilla. The victim, 45-year-old Anwar Hossain, was dragged from his bed by an armed gang, severely beaten, and hacked to death inside his family home.
The incident occurred at around 3:00 am in Pennai village, situated within the Srikail Union. According to family members and local sources, a group of armed assailants broke down the door of the bedroom where Anwar was sleeping alongside his wife and children. The intruders attacked him with sharp weapons, inflicting severe injuries and reportedly severing the tendons in his hands and feet. When his wife, Momena Begum, intervened to protect him, she was also struck with sharp weapons.
Neighbours rushed to the house after hearing the commotion and transported the injured couple to a nearby hospital, where attending doctors pronounced Anwar dead on arrival. Momena Begum remains under medical treatment for her injuries.
Anwar was a prominent local figure who served as the president of the Ward No. 2 Jubo League in Srikail Union and held an active seat as a member of the Srikail Union Parishad. He was widely known as a close political associate of former local Member of Parliament Youssuf Abdullah Harun.
His political influence in the area was accompanied by considerable controversy. Official police records indicate that Anwar faced at least five criminal cases across the Muradnagar and Bangora Bazar police stations, with charges including assault, extortion, and land grabbing. Local residents had previously accused him of installing dredgers on private land without authorisation to sell soil illegally. In 2023, Anwar and his associates reportedly attacked the vehicle of the Muradnagar Assistant Commissioner (Land) during an official drive against illegal soil dredging.
Local political dynamics further complicated his standing. Following the 12th National Parliamentary Election in January 2024, when Jahangir Alam—the former general secretary of the Cumilla North District Awami League—was elected to the seat, Anwar fled the locality amidst rising tensions. Opponents and aggrieved locals subsequently vandalised his home on several occasions. Following the fall of the Awami League government on 5 August, Anwar attempted to return to his village, but persistent local opposition prevented his resettlement. Reports suggest he had only returned home in secret shortly before the fatal attack took place.
The victim’s family claims the attack was a calculated hit tied to extortion and political rivalry. Momena Begum alleged that a local group comprising former Union Parishad member Firoz, Kabir Munshi, Jalal, and Pintu had demanded 10 crore taka from her husband. She asserted that he was targeted because he refused to pay. The victim’s son-in-law, Shafiqul Islam, reiterated these allegations, stating that the attack was led directly by armed followers of Jahangir Alam.
Efforts to contact the named individuals for response were unsuccessful, as their mobile phones remained switched off.
Bangora Bazar Police Station Inspector-in-Charge (OC) Safiqul Islam confirmed that law enforcement received news of the murder around 4:00 am. Officers recovered the body and dispatched it to the Cumilla Medical College Hospital morgue for an autopsy. Multiple police units are currently conducting operations to identify and apprehend those responsible for the crime.
