Dhaka Metropolitan Police commissioner Sheikh Md Sajjat Ali said on Wednesday that the killing of Md Sohag, locally known as Lal Chand, was primarily driven by 鈥榖usiness rivalry.
The prime suspect in the killing has been arrested from Patuakhali, DMP commissioner said during a press briefing in the capital.
The suspect, Rizwan Uddin Ovi, a converted Muslim, was arrested in a drive in Patuakhali at about 11:55pm on Tuesday, he said.
With this, the total number of arrests in the case has risen to nine.
Sajjat Ali said that Ovi was the person who was seen throwing a stone at Sohag near Sir Salimullah Medical College Mitford Hospital in the capital Dhaka.
鈥極vi had personal animosity towards Sohag following multiple incidents of fraud. Sohag had been monopolising the business for 17 years,鈥� he said.
After his arrest, Ovi said that, in 2018, Sohag grabbed his roadside shop and also seized a mobile phone, which contained personal videos involving his wife. Sohag used these videos to blackmail him, which eventually drove his wife to take her own life.
When asked about any political affiliations of the suspects, DMP commissioner said, 鈥楢nyone can have a political identity. A citizen may be affiliated with any political party, but this incident is not politically motivated.鈥�
Additional commissioner (Crime and Operations) SN Md Nazrul Islam said that Sohag had previously operated a business under the political cover of Haji Selim鈥檚 nephew, former commissioner Pillu, during the Awami League regime.
鈥楾here was no attempt to disrupt the election or embarrass the government through this killing.
It was purely due to personal and commercial disputes,鈥� he said replying to a query.
On July 9, a group of people dragged Sohag from his shop Sohana Metal on Rajani Ghosh Lane and took him in the Mitford Hospital area and hit and hacked him to death with concrete boulders inside Gate 3 of Mitford Hospital, according to police and local people.
A video footage of the killing went viral on social media, sparking nationwide outrage.
On July 10, Sohag鈥檚 elder sister, Monjuara Begum, filed a murder case with the Kotwali police, accusing 19 named people and 15 to 20 unnamed others for Sohag鈥檚 murder and police filed a separate case under the Arms Act in this connection.
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party and its affiliated organisations Juba Dal, Swechchhasebak Dal and Chhatra Dal have expelled five of their members for their alleged involvement in the incident.
Five expelled members are among the named accused in the case and police has so far arrested one of them, Mahmudul Hasan Mohin.
The police is investigating the case.
