Missing businessman’s body found buried in Lalbagh

Police recovered the buried body of a businessman in Lalbagh early Friday (September 11), two days after he went missing, in a case believed to have stemmed from a dispute over a Tk 300,000 loan.

The deceased, Sheikh Wasim Rony, 43, was found buried beside the ground-floor verandah of a five-storey building on BC Das Street around 5:30am after an overnight search by Lalbagh police.

Police began the operation around 11:30pm Thursday after an investigation into Rony’s disappearance led them to the site. His body was later sent to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital morgue for autopsy.

Police detained Mohammad Masum Chowdhury in connection with the case. Crime-scene teams from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and Detective Branch (DB) also examined the scene.

According to relatives, Rony had gone to Masum’s business premises on Sept. 8 to collect Tk 300,000 that Masum had allegedly borrowed from him. The two reportedly had a dispute over repayment, and Masum allegedly struck Rony during a confrontation, according to a claim made by Masum’s brother-in-law.

Rony’s family lost contact with him later that day after his mobile phone was switched off. They subsequently filed a missing-person complaint with Lalbagh police.

Police said information gathered during the investigation led them to the ground beside Masum’s wholesale imitation-jewellery workshop, where Rony’s body was recovered after digging up the soil.

Relatives alleged that Rony had been killed and buried after his hands and feet were tied, though police have yet to establish the circumstances of his death.

Lalbagh Deputy Commissioner Talebur Rahman said Masum had been detained and the body sent for autopsy. Investigators are working to determine the motive, establish how Rony died and find out whether anyone else was involved.

Further legal action will follow the investigation, police said.