BNP leader gunned down in Khulna

Two helmet-wearing youths shot and killed a BNP grassroots leader in Khulna’s Rupsha upazila on Thursday night.

Khulna Additional Superintendent Abir Siddiqui Shuvro and Rupsha Police Station Officer-in-Charge Masum Khan confirmed that Jakir Hossain, 43, died from gunshot injuries.

In Khulna, it marks the sixth murder with firearms over the past 20 days, and the 79th murder so far this year, highlighting the dire state of law and order situation in the district.

Jakir was a member of BNP’s convening committee at TSB Union in the upazila, and was also a member of the party’s search committee in the union. The search committee was tasked with restructuring and reorganizing the union-level unit of the ruling party.

He was also a sand and brick trader.

Around 10pm, he was inside a diamond shop at Shalpabahirdiya village in Rupsha Sadar Union of the upazila. Within 10-20 minutes, two youths approached the shop on a motorbike from Fakirhat upazila of Bagerhat.

One of them entered the diamond shop, and without any warning, shot at Jakir’s head at point blank range. The youths immediately left the site on their motorbike and headed back towards Fakirhat, eyewitnesses said.

Locals rushed Jakir Hossain to the Rupsha Upazila Health Complex, where the duty doctor declared him dead.