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Crime links Newton to death!

STAFF CORRESPONDENT
Involvement with an underworld don, feud over the recently concluded Dhaka City Corporation polls and rivalry over waste cloth business may have led to the murder of BNP Ward Commissioner Saidur Rahman Newton Friday.
According to his accomplices and sources in Mirpur area, Newton, also vice-president of the suspended central committee of the Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD), had close links with one of the city's top criminal Kala Jahangir.
Over the years, he along with Kala Jahangir amassed huge wealth allegedly through illegal toll collection and grabbing of land and
property in Mirpur area. He was made vice-president of the JCD, the student wing of the ruling BNP, in December, 2000 and then he set up a group in his locality to carry out illegal toll collection.
But trouble for Newton started when he snapped links with Jahangir early this year and decided to contest the DCC elections. He became a strong rival of ward commissioner nomination seekers, Saiful Islam Ripon and Mosharraf Hossain Mashu, when he got nomination from the four-party alliance from ward No. 8.
Following feud with Newton, police arrested Ripon before the DCC elections. Sources said Newton had a hand in sending
Ripon behind bars to clear his way to win the polls. This angered Ripon, who wanted to take revenge on Newton, sources added.
Another source said Newton took control of waste cloth business in Mirpur immediately after being elected. The business was earlier controlled by Haji Rafiq, commissioner of ward No. 4.
Newton became the target of Kala Jahangir after he left his gang and got his wife arrested last month.
Intelligence sources said Jahangir recently joined hands with a ward commissioner and plotted the killing of Newton. A meeting was held at the residence of the commissioner in this regard.
The sources said professional killers belonging to Kala Jahangir were assigned to carry out the plan. Accordingly, some killers came down from Kolkata in India, gunned Newton down and then slipped back across the border.
They shot Newton as he came out of a barbershop at Road No. 8 near Orchid Plaza at Dhanmondi in the city on Friday.
Rabeya Begum, mother of the slain ward commissioner, filed a murder case with the Dhanmondi Police Station yesterday, accusing 12 persons for the killing. She named Piyal, Paltu, Sagar, Biplab, Dilip Babu, Farook, Aga Khan, Rahat Khan and Bipul in the case. Sources said most of the accused are relatives of jailed ward commissioner candidate Ripon.
The case was handed over to the Detective Branch (DB) of police. DB Inspector Munshi Ruhul Kuddus is the investigating officer (IO) in the case.
Meantime, family of Newton said unidentified callers have been threatening to kill another member of the family if they exceed limits and press for the arrest of the killers. "We are now in a state of insecurity," said a family member.
A tense situation has been
prevailing in Mirpur area since the killing. Sources said accomplices of Newton have already gone into hiding.
BNP leaders and workers brought out a mourning procession in Mirpur yesterday, demanding immediate arrest of and punishment to the killers. Later, at a rally in front of Mirpur-1 BNP office, they strongly condemned the killing of Newton.
The JCD will bring out a mourning procession on the Dhaka University campus today in protest of the killing.
Police yesterday arrested eight persons in their hunt for the killers. They are Shamim Khan, Abdur Razzak, Shamim, Tuhin, Shakil, Mahbub, Ripon and Kazi Ripon. None of them have been named in the murder case filed by Newton's mother. They will be produced before the CMM's Court, Dhaka today with a prayer for remand.
The DCC announced a full-day holiday today in 'respect' of the slain commissioner. Outgoing DCC Major Mohammad Hanif has condemned the killing and expressed 'deep shock' at the death of the newly elected ward commissioner.
Hanif demanded arrest and punishment of the killers.