A 37-year-old fruit trader in Bogura was allegedly killed by two friends following a dispute over money he had lent them, police said. Investigators claim one of the suspects searched online for the name of a substance capable of rendering a person unconscious before the victim was allegedly given a soft drink containing a sedative and a poisonous substance.
The victim has been identified as Wahed Hossain, also known as Nizhum, a resident of Sutrāpur in Bogura metropolitan area. His partially decomposed body was recovered from a paddy field in the Malgram Madhyapara Dighipar area of Bogura city on 12 August. At the time, police could not establish his identity and the body was buried as unidentified. His relatives later identified the remains as those of Wahed.
According to the case statement and police sources, Wahed ran a fruit wholesale business with his father on Station Road. His friends Nazim Uddin and Mohammad Swapan worked as cooks at a private organisation. The three men were known to each other.
Police said the dispute arose after Wahed lent money to the two men. Some time earlier, he had taken a loan of Tk 700,000 from the private organisation in his mother’s name. From that money, he allegedly lent Tk 200,000 to Swapan and Tk 100,000 to Nazim. Tensions reportedly developed when Wahed began asking them to repay the loans.
Investigators say the financial dispute eventually led Nazim and Swapan to allegedly plan the killing. According to police, Wahed was called to the office of the private organisation in the Malgram area on 7 August as part of the plan.
Police allege that Nazim used his mobile phone to search the internet for the name of a substance used to make someone unconscious. The investigators further claim that a sedative and poisonous substance were mixed with a soft drink and given to Wahed. He later died at the workplace.
The body was allegedly placed inside a sack that night and dumped in a nearby paddy field. The following morning, 8 August, Nazim and Swapan reportedly left their jobs voluntarily and went into hiding, according to police.
After Wahed went missing, his family filed a general diary (GD) with the police. Five days later, on 12 August, officers recovered the sack containing his partially decomposed body from the paddy field in Malgram Madhyapara Dighipar. As the identity could not initially be established, the body was buried as unidentified. The subsequent identification by his relatives led investigators to pursue the case as a suspected murder.
Police said they analysed information from Wahed’s mobile phone after the body was recovered and found communication between him and the two suspects. Investigators then used information technology to identify and trace Nazim and Swapan.
Wahed’s brother, Sohel Hossain, filed a murder case at Bogura Sadar Police Station on Thursday, naming unidentified individuals as the accused. Following the filing of the case, police arrested Nazim from Madnai village in Kahalu upazila.
Nazim was produced before a court later that afternoon, when police sought seven days’ remand for questioning. Bogura Judicial Magistrate Mohammad Ariful Islam granted five days’ remand.
Police said Nazim admitted during preliminary questioning to involvement in the killing. Investigators also allege that Swapan was involved and are attempting to arrest him.
Bogura Sadar Police Station officer-in-charge Ibrahim Ali said the two men had been identified as suspects through an investigation assisted by information technology. He added that Nazim’s arrest had provided investigators with important information about the alleged killing.
The investigating officer, Sub-Inspector Shariful Islam of Bogura Sadar Police Station, said Nazim was being questioned during the five-day remand and efforts were continuing to locate Swapan.
Bogura Superintendent of Police Mirza Sayem Mahmud said Nazim had told investigators that he searched the internet for the name of a substance used to make someone unconscious before the killing. Police are now investigating what substances were used, the precise motive behind the killing and Swapan’s alleged role in the incident.
The investigation remains ongoing. Police are verifying the information obtained during Nazim’s questioning while continuing efforts to arrest the second suspect. The exact circumstances surrounding Wahed’s death and the respective roles of those allegedly involved will be determined through the investigation and subsequent legal proceedings.
