Mystery of honeytrap murder in capital uncovered
The Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) Dhaka Metro (North) has identified the body of an unknown man recovered in a sack from the Turag River in the capital and solved the sensational murder case.
Four members of a syndicate involved in kidnapping through honeytrap, extortion of ransom, and murder have been arrested in connection with this incident. The victim’s stolen private car has also been recovered.
In a press release on Saturday, PBI revealed that the deceased is Md. Lokman Sardar (38), a driver by profession who worked on the InDrive and Pathao platforms. On the afternoon of May 30, he left his residence in Kuril with his car and never returned. Family members also failed to reach him on his mobile phone.
His body was later recovered floating inside a plastic sack in the Turag River at the Faydabad Rajabari Ghat area in Dakkhinkhon. In connection with the incident, the victim’s wife Farzana Akter filed a murder case against unknown accused at Dakkhinkhon Police Station. The PBI subsequently took up the case for investigation with special priority.
The investigation revealed that syndicate member Jannatun Ferdous Mim, alias Aniba Zara, lured Lokman Sardar to the Pakhi Bazar area in Tongi under a false identity. Syndicate members lying in wait there beat him up, falsely accused him of drug use, and extorted 10,000 taka in ransom from him.
He was then severely beaten, bound hand and foot, stuffed into a plastic sack, and thrown into the Turag River. His private car was also seized at the same time. In the course of the investigation, multiple operations were conducted in Dhaka, Gazipur, and Cox’s Bazar, leading to the arrest of four individuals: Md. S M Salman (29), Md. Adib Islam (19), Jannatun Ferdous Mim alias Aniba Zara (21), and Md. Sobuj Mia (35).
PBI stated that Adib Islam was arrested from the Kalatoli area of Cox’s Bazar, Salman and Mim from the East Namapara area of Khilkhet, and Sobuj Mia from the Tongi West area of Gazipur. Additionally, the victim’s stolen car was recovered from the Gacha Police Station area of Gazipur.
Two mobile phones, evidence of financial transactions via bKash, and the stolen car were recovered from the arrestees.
PBI further stated that the main accused S M Salman has given a confessional statement before the court under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and has named several others involved in the incident.
The investigation also uncovered that the syndicate would rent apartments in various areas of the capital posing as a married couple, and lure young people, college and university students, drivers, and people from various professions to those locations.
The victims would then be entrapped through prostitution or drug use and robbed of everything they had.
