A bullet was found inside the skull of Jubo Dal leader Saker Hossain, whose body was recovered from a bus counter in Magura town early hours of today (21 October), police said, suspecting that he was shot dead.
Saker, 39, senior joint convener of Magura municipality Jubo Dal, was found unconscious inside the Royal Express counter at Magura Central Bus Terminal. He was taken to Magura 250-bed Hospital, where doctors declared him dead, reports Prothom Alo.
Magura Additional Superintendent of Police Thandar Khairul Hasan told Prothom Alo that doctors found a bullet inside Saker's skull during the autopsy. The exact cause of death will be confirmed after the post-mortem report is received, he said.
Saker, son of the late Qutub Uddin of Beparipara in the Parnanduali area of Magura town, worked as a counter manager for the bus service.
CCTV audio captures gunshots
Police said audio recorded by a CCTV camera installed at the entrance to the bus terminal captured two gunshots around the time of the incident, according to Prothom Alo.
Several motorcycles and electric three-wheelers were also seen entering and leaving the terminal around that time. However, the camera did not capture the incident itself because the counter was outside its field of view.
Two passengers were inside the counter when the incident occurred. Police are trying to obtain information from them; they had been waiting to travel to Dhaka by bus.
Police initially suspect that two people arrived on a motorcycle, shot Saker and fled. The identities of the suspects, the motive for the killing and the weapon used have yet to be established.
Saker's family initially believed he had died of illness and took his body home. While preparing to wash it, relatives noticed an injury at the back of his head and informed police. The body was subsequently taken to the hospital for an autopsy.
Earlier, police had said a hole-like mark was found at the back of his head but that it was not possible to determine whether he had been shot before the autopsy.
MP calls for investigation
Magura-1 MP Monowar Hosen visited the hospital this afternoon and told journalists that the discovery of the bullet supported eyewitness accounts that Saker had been shot.
The MP alleged that the killing might have involved a wider network and urged police and senior authorities to identify those responsible and establish the motive.
He also called for illegal firearms used during the violence surrounding the July Uprising in 2024 to be traced, Prothom Alo reported.
Cultural Affairs Minister and Magura-2 MP Nitai Roy Chowdhury also visited the hospital in the afternoon.
Meanwhile, BNP activists gathered around the hospital and bus terminal. At around noon, they staged a procession at the terminal demanding justice for Saker's killing, briefly blocking the Dhaka-Khulna highway, according to Prothom Alo.