Bagerhat AL leader, aide gunned down

Locals put barricade on Dhaka-Bagerhat highway at Atmari intersection in the Rupsha upazila in Khulna Saturday morning protesting the killing of Khan Zahid Hossain (inset), a local AL leader of Bagerhat. Photo: Star

Unidentified miscreants shot dead a local Awami League leader of Bagerhat and his driver in Rupsha upazila of Khulna Saturday morning.
Protesting the killings, locals blockaded Dhaka-Bagerhat highway at Atmari intersection in the upazila in the morning, halting transport movement for over an hour.

Khan Zahid Hossain, 53, was the acting general secretary of Awami League Fakirhat upazila unit and also the chairman of Fakirhat Sadar Union Parishad while Munna, 38, was the driver of Hossain, reported our Bagerhat and Khulna correspondents.
A gang of four to five criminals opened fire on the duo on Khulna-Bagerhat highway in Rupsha upazila of Khulna around 9:45am when they were returning to Satshaya residence in Fakirhat upazila of the UP chairman from Khulna, said Md Ashraf Hossain, officer-in-charge (OC) of Rupsha Police Station.
Both of them died on the spot, the OC said adding that bullets pierced their heads, chests and backs.
Locals blockaded Dhaka-Bagerhat highway around 10:45am protesting the incident. They withdrew the blockade after more than an hour.
Businessmen of the town also shut their establishments in protest against the murders, the police official said.
Around 10:30am, the bodies were taken to local Shaheed Minar premises where local people paid tribute to the AL leader, he added.
Later, the bodies were sent to Khulna Medical College and Hospital for autopsies.