Police have pressed charges against 8 people over the brutal killing of journalist Asaduzzaman Tuhin, who was hacked to death publicly at Chandana Chowrasta in Gazipur on August 7.
Speaking at a press briefing at GMP headquarters on Monday, Gazipur Metropolitan Police (GMP) Deputy Commissioner (Crime) Md Rabiul Hasan said investigators found evidence of direct involvement of the 8 accused, whose names have been included in the charge sheet submitted to the court.

However, he said Tuhin’s two mobile phones, which went missing during the murder, have not yet been recovered.

“The phones remain switched off, making it impossible to trace them,” DC Rabiul said, adding that the case was investigated quickly under the instructions of GMP Commissioner Dr Nazmul Karim Khan.

The chargesheet names prime accused Ketu Mizan alias Kopa Mizan, his wife Parul Akhter alias Golapi, Al-Amin, Shahjalal, Faisal Hasan, Sumon alias Sabbir, Rafiqul Islam Arman, and Shamim Hossain.

Police also admitted that “many questions” surrounding the murder remain unanswered.

At the briefing, Deputy Commissioner Rabiul Hasan confirmed the involvement of the accused individuals, citing their presence at the crime scene, use of specific weapons, confessional statements, and other technical evidence.

He detailed how the accused, Golapi, used a “honey trap” to lure a young man named Badsha Mia. An argument ensued, and Golapi’s accomplices, wielding cleavers, machetes, and knives, began beating Badsha Mia in front of Shapla Mansion.

According to Rabiul Hasan, Golapi then shouted that Tuhin, a journalist, was filming the incident. The group immediately turned their attention from Badsha Mia to Tuhin. Mizan struck him with a machete, and then Swadhin, Suman, Arman, Alamin, and Faisal beat him indiscriminately. Mizan then snatched Tuhin’s mobile phone and fled. Golapi again raised an alarm, yelling that the police were coming, prompting the others to leave the scene.

Phones missing, questions remain
According to sources, the police had presented seven of the arrested individuals to the court, requesting a 10-day remand. The court granted a two-day remand, during which police obtained a confession from an accused named Shahjalal.

However, despite the arrest and remand of the individual who stole journalist Tuhin’s mobile phone, the device has not been recovered. This has created a doubt, especially since Tuhin’s wife had previously complained that police had asked for the phone’s password, even though it had not been recovered.

Additionally, a significant discrepancy was noted between the times on multiple CCTV footage files and the time mentioned in the case filing. It remains unclear how these inconsistencies were addressed in the charge sheet.

The briefing was attended by GMP Additional Deputy Police Commissioner Rabiul Islam, Bason Police Station Officer-in-Charge Md Shaheen Khan, the family of the slain journalist Asaduzzaman Tuhin, and Khairul Alam Rafiq, editor of Dainik Protidiner Kagoj.

Tuhin’s family expresses relief
Following the press conference, Tuhin’s wife, Farida Akhter, expressed her relief over the filing of the charge sheet.

She said, “The police have not yet recovered the two mobile phones of my husband.”

Farida called for the speedy and maximum punishment for the eight individuals named in the charge sheet.

Tuhin, 38, a staff reporter for the daily Protidiner Kagoj, was hacked and had his throat slit near a tea stall inside Masjid Market at the busy Chandna Chowrasta intersection around 8 pm last Thursday.

He lived in a rented flat in Gazipur with his wife and two sons, and was originally from Vhatipara village in Fulbaria, Mymensingh.

According to police, two separate cases have been filed over the incident – one by Tuhin’s elder brother and another by the brother of Badsha Mia, who was injured in the initial attack.