A Union Parishad councillor and local Awami League leader was hacked to death by unidentified assailants in Harinakundu upazila of Jhenaidah on Wednesday night.
The victim was identified as Moneyam Hossain, 50, a member of Ward 9 of Vayna Union Parishad and president of the local Awami League ward unit. He was the son of the late Abul Mondal of Kalishankarapur village under Vayna Union.
The attack took place at around 8:30pm on Wednesday (9 September) near Vayna Bazar in the Kalishankarapur area.
According to police and local residents, Hossain had travelled to Abdalpur in Kushtia district in the afternoon to watch a sports event. Later in the evening, he returned to Vayna Bazar and began his journey home after completing his work there.
As he reached the northern side of Kalishankarapur Government Primary School, a group of assailants allegedly waiting in the area attacked him. They reportedly used sharp locally made weapons, leaving him critically injured.
Hearing his cries, people from nearby areas rushed to the scene. Local residents rescued Hossain and took him to Kushtia Medical College Hospital. However, doctors declared him dead after he arrived at the hospital.
His body was kept at the hospital morgue, with police saying that a post-mortem examination would be carried out before further legal action.
Akhtar Hossain, a member of Ward 5 of Vayna Union Parishad, said Moneyam Hossain had gone to Abdalpur in the afternoon to watch a game. He was attacked while returning home after finishing his work at the market. He died while being taken to Kushtia for treatment, Akhtar said.
The killing has left Hossain’s family seeking justice. His wife, Shilpi Khatun, said her husband had been returning home from the market when he was attacked behind the village school.
“I have become a widow and my children have lost their father. I want justice,” she said.
Harinakundu Police Station Officer-in-Charge Masum Khan said the identities of those involved in the attack had not yet been confirmed.
Police suspect that the incident may have stemmed from a previous dispute and that people from Hossain’s opposition could have been involved. The officer said investigators would examine the circumstances surrounding the killing and take action based on their findings.
The police said the body would undergo a post-mortem examination after being brought back from Kushtia Medical College Hospital. Necessary legal measures would then be taken.
Investigators are expected to establish the motive for the attack, identify those responsible and determine whether the suspected previous dispute was directly connected to the killing. No arrests or confirmed identities of the assailants were mentioned by police in the initial account of the incident.
