3 arrested after man’s body found on Dhaka Elevated Expressway

Police and the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) have arrested three people, including a bus driver, in connection with the recovery of a man’s body from the Banani section of the Dhaka Elevated Expressway.

The three were arrested during a joint operation in the capital’s Mohakhali area today (5 September), according to a source at Dhaka Metropolitan Police headquarters.

The arrested bus driver was identified as Sohel Rana, who drives a Bablu Paribahan bus on the Dhaka-Jamalpur route. The identities of the other two detainees were not immediately known.

The development came a day after police recovered the body of Ismail Hossain, 50, near the entrance to the Banani section of the elevated expressway. His mouth had been taped shut, and he was initially found as an unidentified man.

DMP Deputy Commissioner (Media and Public Relations) Akter Hossain told The Business Standard that police will brief the media tomorrow (6 September), when senior officials are expected to disclose details about the arrests and the investigation.

Police began examining CCTV footage from the elevated expressway after recovering the body and identified several vehicles considered suspicious, said Banani Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Faridul Islam.

Police suspect Ismail may have been strangled and that his body was dumped from a vehicle onto the expressway.

However, it remains unclear whether the seized Bablu Paribahan bus was used to transport Ismail or dispose of his body.

Ismail, a resident of Hobdesh village in Jamalpur Sadar upazila, had travelled from his village to Gazipur to finalise his daughter’s wedding date, according to his family.

His son Mohammad Hasan said the family last spoke to Ismail around 11pm on 3 September. He was expected to leave Jamalpur for Gazipur around 3:30am and reach Jirani in the morning, but never arrived.

The family said Ismail was carrying around Tk5 lakh from the sale of land. The cash and two mobile phones were missing when his body was recovered.

Police found the body around 8:45am yesterday (4 September) near the entrance to the Banani section of the elevated expressway. He was wearing a blue shirt resembling the uniform worn by CNG-run auto-rickshaw drivers and a lungi.

The body was sent to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital morgue for autopsy.

Ismail had previously worked as a security guard at Delta Spinning Mill in Gazipur but left the job around nine months ago due to illness.

Police have yet to establish how Ismail was killed, whether the three detainees were directly involved in the death, or what happened to the money and mobile phones. The motive also remains unclear.