Rent dispute involving BNP office: Narayanganj landlord beaten to death

Staff Reporter :

A middle-aged landlord, Md Jahangir Hossain, 57, was allegedly beaten to death by men associated with the BNP in Araihazar upazila, Narayanganj, after a dispute over rent for a shop space used as a BNP party office.

The incident occurred around 11:30am on Wednesday at Salmodi Bazar in Mahmudpur Union. Jahangir, son of Taleb Ali, was reportedly attacked after confronting the tenant over unpaid rent.
According to the victim’s son, Russell, the family owns three shops in Salmodi Bazar.

After 5 August 2024, Tota Mia Pradhan, the former general secretary of the Union BNP and local UP member, rented all three shops at an annual rate of Tk 30,000 each. While rent was paid for two shops, the shop used as the BNP ward office remained unpaid.

Russell said, “On Wednesday, my father approached Tota Mia Pradhan to request the outstanding rent, which led to a heated argument. Soon after, Tota Mia’s sons Khokon and Russell, along with nephews Saddam and Alam, arrived and assaulted my father severely. He was later taken to the Upazila Health Complex in critical condition, where he was pronounced dead.”

Araihazar Police Station Officer-in-Charge Khandaker Nasir Uddin confirmed the incident and said the body has been sent to Narayanganj General Hospital for post-mortem examination. A murder case is being prepared.

Preliminary investigations suggest the shop belonged to the victim, and local BNP leaders had recently established a party office there. The case remains under investigation, the OC added.
Ashraful Amin, resident medical officer at the Upazila Health Complex, reported that Jahangir was brought in deceased with a severe head injury. Police arrived at the hospital following notification.
While Md Nazrul Islam, president of the Mahmudpur union unit of the Jatiyatabadi Matsyajibi Dal, claimed Jahangir held the position of joint general secretary within the organisation, Jahangir’s son Rasel disputed this, stating, “My father was not involved in politics and never held any political office. He ran a grocery store located beside the BNP office and attended political events only when invited.”