Tipu murder mystery to be revealed soon: Home minister

The mystery surrounding the murder of Awami League leader Zahidul Islam Tipu will be unravelled soon, said Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal.

"We will soon reveal the names of the masterminds," he added after placing wreath at the Liberation War Memorial on the premises of Rajarbagh Police Lines in Dhaka on Saturday.

However, the home minister refused to comment on the speculations of the assassination being a politically motivated one.

Replying to a query, the minister said, "We do not want to draw any conclusions right now."

Zahidul Islam Tipu, former general secretary of Awami League's Motijheel police station committee, and Samia Afrin Priti, a 22-year-old student of BegumBadrunnesa Government College, were killed when an assailant opened fire at them in the capital's Khilgaon Rail-Gate area on Thursday (24 March) night.

The assailant shot 12 rounds of bullets just within 20 seconds, and it was not a movie. This horrific incident took place on a city road amid huge traffic.

The driver and a passenger of the white-coloured microbus were brutally shot, especially the latter, who was shot 6-7 times while the driver was shot twice.

The shots, fired in rapid succession, shattered the left side glasses of the car before hitting Jahidul Islam Tipu.

He was shot in the throat, chest and abdomen, among other body parts. At least 10-12 bullets hit the victim and his driver Monir Hossain Munna, 34, according to the inquest report that detailed the brutal shooting.

College student Samia Afran Jamal Prity- who  was on a rickshaw on her way to a friend's place in Khilgaon was also shot during this time.

The on-duty doctor of Dhaka Medical College Hospital pronounced Tipu and Prity dead when they were taken to hospital.