A Dhaka court has granted a three-day remand for four accused in the murder case of internet businessman Rahat Hossain Rabbi, who was fatally stabbed outside a shisha bar in Banani.
On Tuesday, Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Ziadur Rahman issued the order after a hearing. The accused are Mir Hossain (22), Fazle Rabbi (24), Sabbir Ahmed Suman (30), and Arafat Islam Fahim (27).
According to police, Rabbi (31), a resident of Mohakhali, was attacked with a knife on the stairs of the building while leaving the “360 Degree” shisha bar around 5:30 am last Thursday. He was rushed to a hospital where doctors declared him dead. Investigators believe the attackers were known to him.
Rabbi’s father, Rabiul Awal, filed the case on Friday, the same day police and RAB arrested six suspects. Of them, four were later sent to jail before police sought a seven-day remand.
During Tuesday’s hearing, prosecution lawyer Mohammad Shamsuddoha Suman argued that the suspects needed to be remanded for interrogation to determine the motive behind the “brutal killing.” Defense lawyers, however, sought bail and cancellation of the remand.
Earlier, two other prime suspects, Abdul Malek Munna and Maksudur Rahman Hamza, were arrested in Comilla’s Barura and placed on remand. Munna is giving a confessional statement in court, while Hamza has been sent to jail after a one-day remand.
According to a RAB press release, Rabbi and his friend Nurul Islam Khokon had gone to the shisha bar that night. Around 5:30 am, as Rabbi was descending from the fourth floor, Munna and Hamza blocked his way. An altercation broke out, during which Munna pulled a knife from his pocket and stabbed him repeatedly.
Investigators said Rabbi and the two accused had a long-standing dispute over dominance inside the shisha bar. Just hours earlier, Rabbi had asked Munna to leave the lounge, which, combined with previous enmity, allegedly led to the fatal attack.
Video footage from the scene shows Rabbi being surrounded by three men before being stabbed and beaten on the staircase.
