Ashraful Murder: Two Different Accounts from RAB and Police

Here is the English translation of the news report:

📰 Ashraful Murder: Two Different Accounts from RAB and Police
Law enforcement agencies have received two different accounts regarding the murder of Rangpur businessman Ashraful Haque (42). Zorezul Islam (39) and Shamima Akter (33) have been arrested by both the Police and RAB on suspicion of involvement in the incident. On Saturday (November 15), the two forces held separate press conferences and revealed differing information based on the statements of the two accused.

According to RAB’s narrative, it was a planned trap to extort 10 lakh Taka. Conversely, the Police (DB) stated it was a love triangle murder.

RAB’s Account: Plan to Extort 10 Lakh Taka
At a press conference held at the RAB Media Center at 10:00 AM, the Commanding Officer of RAB-3 stated that, according to the confession of the accused Shamima, she had been in a relationship with Zorezul for over a year. It was Zorezul who planned to use Shamima to trap his friend Ashraful (the deceased) in a romantic snare and extort 10 lakh Taka from him.

As per the plan, Shamima administered sleeping pills to Ashraful mixed in sherbet. Subsequently, they filmed a video of Ashraful and Shamima, which was intended to be used for extortion. RAB confirmed that the video was recovered from Shamima’s mobile phone.

RAB further stated that on November 12, when Ashraful was completely unconscious, Zorezul tied him up with a rope, taped his mouth with scotch tape, and repeatedly beat him with a hammer, leading to Ashraful’s death. The next morning (November 13), they purchased two plastic drums, dismembered the body, loaded it into a CNG-run auto-rickshaw, and dumped the drums near the High Court area before fleeing.

DB Police Account: The Love Triangle
At a press conference held at the DMP Media Center in the afternoon, Additional Commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Detective Police (DB), Md. Shafiqul Islam presented a different picture based on the statement of athe ccused Zorezul Islam.

He explained that Zorezul, an expatriate in Malaysia, met and fell in love with Shamima through a dating app. When Zorezul returned to the country a month and a half ago, his wife became aware of the affair. Zorezul’s wife then sought the help of his close friend, Ashraful Islam (the deceased), and gave Ashraful Shamima’s number, asking him to convince Shamima to end the relationship. However, Ashraful himself fell in love with Shamima, and they began communicating via video calls.

The DB Additional Commissioner said that at one point, Shamima suggested sending Zorezul to Japan for 14 lakh Taka, promising to contribute 7 lakh Taka herself. To initiate this process and arrange the money, Zorezul and Ashraful came to Dhaka together on November 11 and rented a house in Shanir Akhra.

A dispute arose when Zorezul found out about the relationship between Ashraful and Shamima. When Shamima screamed during the argument, Zorezul tied Ashraful’s hands and hit him with a hammer. Ashraful subsequently died after a scarf was shoved into his mouth and secured with scotch tape. They then disposed of the body in the same manner.