A former union council member who was the prime accused in a rape and murder case has been shot dead by unidentified assailants in Pabna’s Atgharia upazila, while police have arrested one person in connection with the killing.
The incident took place on Monday afternoon (7 September) in the Chandipasha area of Ekdanta Union. The deceased, Adam Ali, 60, was attacked while returning home from Ekdanta Bazar on a motorcycle.
According to police and eyewitness accounts, Adam was travelling along a paved road in Chandipasha when a group of attackers stopped him in front of the house of Ahmed Ali. The assailants reportedly opened fire on him and also attacked him with sharp weapons. He died at the scene from his injuries.
Police arrived after receiving information about the attack, recovered the body and sent it to the morgue for a post-mortem examination. Investigators are now examining the circumstances surrounding the killing and the identities of those involved.
Adam Ali was the son of the late Nurul Islam of Shatgachha village in Ekdanta Union. Selim Hossain, president of the local BNP unit, said Adam had served as president of the party’s ward-level committee in Ward 1 of the union.
Police, however, said Adam had been an active member of an extremist organisation and faced several criminal cases.
Following the killing, Adam’s son filed a case with Atgharia Police Station naming 14 people and accusing another five to seven unidentified individuals. Within 24 hours of the incident, a team from the Rapid Action Battalion’s Pabna unit arrested Eradul Islam, 55, from the Gopalpur Tatipara area of Atgharia.
Eradul is the son of the late Abdul of Chandipasha village. During the operation, the authorities said they recovered a mobile phone, two SIM cards and Tk1,750 in cash from him.
Atgharia Police Station Officer-in-Charge Nazmul Haque said investigators initially suspected that an internal dispute within an extremist group might have led to Adam’s killing. He added that Adam had several criminal cases against him.
One of the most significant cases involved the rape and murder of a young woman from Shatgachha village on 24 December 2024. Adam had been named the prime accused in that case.
According to the police, the Rapid Action Battalion arrested Adam in connection with the case. During questioning, he allegedly confessed to raping the woman and subsequently strangling her to death. Following the investigation, the case investigator submitted a charge sheet to the court on 31 December 2025, naming Adam as the principal accused.
Adam had spent nearly a year in custody before being released on bail recently and returning to his local area. His death came shortly afterwards.
The latest killing has added another violent episode to a case that had already drawn attention because of the serious allegations against Adam. Investigators are expected to examine whether the latest attack was linked to the earlier criminal cases, an alleged internal dispute, or another motive.
Police and the Rapid Action Battalion are continuing efforts to establish the full circumstances of the killing and identify the other people named in the case.
