Bus staffers killed passenger to loot money, dumped body on expressway: Police

Police have arrested a bus driver and two of his assistants in connection with the recovery of a body from the Dhaka Elevated Expressway, with the victim's mouth and hands bound with tape. Police claim the trio killed Ismail Hossain with the motive of robbing the money he was carrying.

The arrestees are Sohel Rana, driver of the 'Raj Classic' bus; Saju, also known as Milon, the supervisor; and Monir Hossain, the assistant. They were arrested after the bus was seized from the Mohakhali bus terminal on Saturday night.

DMP Joint Commissioner (Crime) Md Faruk Hossain disclosed the information at a press conference at the DMP Media Centre on Sunday.

Police said the body of an unidentified man was recovered from the Dhaka Elevated Expressway on Friday morning. His mouth and hands were bound with tape, and he was wearing a blue shirt and lungi. His identity was later confirmed through fingerprint matching from the national database as Ismail Hossain, a resident of Jamalpur. His son identified the body at Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

Family members told police that Ismail had sold land for his daughter's wedding and was returning to Gazipur from Jamalpur with Tk 5 lakh. His money and two mobile phones were missing.

Police said Ismail boarded the 'Raj Classic' bus from Jamalpur around 4:30am. When the supervisor, Saju, asked for the fare, Ismail took out the money tucked in his lungi, which caught Saju's attention. Saju informed the driver, and they planned to rob him, suspecting he might have more money.

According to police, all other passengers were dropped off at Chandra bus stand in Gazipur, but Ismail was kept on board. The bus then headed towards Dhaka. At one point, the supervisor and assistant bound Ismail's mouth and hands with tape and then suffocated him to death with a towel.

Faruk Hossain said the bus took the Elevated Expressway from the airport towards Banani, and on the return route, the body was dumped between pillars 179 and 180.

CCTV footage from the expressway helped identify the suspect bus. The three arrestees have confessed to their involvement during initial interrogation. While the family alleged Tk 5 lakh was taken, the arrestees claimed they took only Tk 2.5 lakh and had already spent it. Police hope to get more information during remand.

When asked about security lapses despite CCTV cameras, the DMP official said the expressway's security is the responsibility of the relevant authorities.