Body of missing trader cut into five pieces recovered in Dhaka

Police have recovered the dismembered body of a businessman cut into five pieces from Dhaka’s Sabujbagh, eight days after he went missing.

The right hand was not found among the severed body parts, authorities said.

The deceased, 55-year-old Zakir Hossain, was a scrap trader.

Police have arrested a person named Mohammad Azhar, an acquaintance of Zakir, in connection with the incident.

Based on information provided by Azhar, Zakir's mutilated torso was found on Thursday, buried under sand in a bushy, deserted spot.

Sub-Inspector (SI) Shamsul Amin of Sabujbagh Police Station said the trader had been missing since Jun 4. After his family filed a kidnapping case with the police, the investigation revealed that Azhar had called him over the phone and met with him. Zakir could not be traced afterwards.

The SI said, “We first detained Azhar from the Dhaka metropolitan area through raids in parts of the capital and using technology. Upon interrogation, Azhar confessed to killing Zakir. Zakir’s dismembered body was recovered beneath the sand in a bush near Baikdia, adjacent to the victim's house, after following his directions.”

According to the SI, Zakir was first struck on the head with a rod. When he fell onto the ground, he was hacked to death with sharp weapons. His body was then cut into multiple parts.

However, police have yet to determine the motive for the murder.

The post-mortem report prepared by police noted that Zakir's head, arms, and his legs were severed from the knees down. Although five body parts were recovered from beneath the sand, the right hand remains missing.

The victim’s younger brother Masud Hossain said there had been a long-standing land dispute in Baikdia alongside several ongoing legal cases on the matter actively negotiated by Zakir.

According to Masud, a group involved in the row orchestrated the murder by hiring contract killers as part of a premeditated plan.

Zakir is survived by two daughters and a son.