A man who had sought police protection after allegedly receiving death threats was shot dead in Khulna’s Rupsa upazila, just 15 days after he lodged a general diary with the police.
Akhtar Dhali was killed by unidentified assailants at around 6.45pm on Monday, 5 October, in Durjanimal village of Aichgati Union. His death came about seven weeks after his 25-year-old son, Joy Dhali, was allegedly hacked to death at the same locality.
Akhtar had gone to Rupsa Police Station on 21 September to report concerns for his safety. According to the general diary, he alleged that several accused in his son’s murder case had threatened him and pressured him to withdraw the case.
Police records show that the general diary was formally registered two days after the application, on 23 September, under GD No. 1412. Rupsa Police Station Officer-in-Charge Anwar Zahid confirmed the record.
In his complaint, Akhtar said that on the night of 18 September, at around 8.45pm, Munzil Sheikh, Murad Sheikh, Masud Molla and Ropa Molla allegedly called him to the Senrebazar area. He claimed that the men threatened and pressured him to withdraw the murder case and warned that he could be killed.
Akhtar said he left the area after the threats. He also referred to the earlier killing of his son, alleging that the same individuals were among those accused in that case.
Joy Dhali was killed on the evening of 15 August at Shaheed’s Mor in Durjanimal. He was reportedly attacked with sharp weapons and had his throat cut. Following the killing, Joy’s mother, Nasima Begum, filed a murder case naming 13 people as accused.
According to Akhtar’s general diary, some of the accused had returned to the area after obtaining bail from the High Court. He alleged that they were putting pressure on him and other members of his family to withdraw the case and were threatening harm to their lives and property.
Despite having formally reported those concerns, Akhtar was attacked on Monday evening.
Police and local residents said Akhtar had gone to a tea stall beside a mosque after Maghrib prayers, as he regularly did, and was sitting on a bench talking with local people. Gunshots were suddenly heard in the area.
Family members and residents rushed to the spot and found Akhtar lying face down beside the bench. Local people took him to Khulna Medical College Hospital, where doctors on duty declared him dead.
The circumstances surrounding the shooting are now under investigation. Police have not yet confirmed who carried out the attack or established a motive.
Officer-in-Charge Anwar Zahid said Akhtar had been killed by assailants and that investigators were examining both the reason for the attack and the identities of those responsible.
The sequence of events has brought renewed attention to the threats recorded in Akhtar’s general diary, particularly because the reported killing occurred only 15 days after he sought police protection. Investigators will have to establish whether those earlier threats were connected to the shooting and whether the killing was linked to the case over his son’s death.
The investigation is also expected to focus on the people named in the earlier complaint, their movements after securing bail and any evidence that may connect them to Monday’s attack. Police have yet to make any announcement about arrests in the latest killing.
