EMRUL HASAN BAPPI and SHAHEEN MOLLAH

Abdullah Al Faruk still shivers thinking about the evening that shattered his world.

On December 21, 2013, the then 23-year-old was away from their Gopibagh house in Dhaka when a group of assailants stormed in.

That absence saved his life but left him as the only surviving male member of his family.

Just before Maghrib prayer, unidentified attackers slit the throats of his 65-year-old father, self-proclaimed spiritual leader Lutfar Rahman Faruk; his elder brother Sarwar Islam Faruk, 35; and four of his father’s followers -- Shahin, Majibur, Monzurul Alam, and Rasel Bhuiyan.

The killers, however, spared Lutfar’s wife Salma, four other women, two children, and one relative who were inside the house at that time. Law enforcers later rescued the eight, their hands and legs tied, mouths gagged.

Nearly 12 years have passed since that night of horror. Yet for Abdullah and the families of other victims, the pain has not eased -- and the wait for justice continues.

“Year after year goes by, but the investigation hasn’t even been completed, let alone the trial. There is no progress at all,” Abdullah said, his voice heavy with disappointment. “I hear that one investigating officer comes, then another replaces him. That’s how the case has been dragging on.”

“My father and brother were murdered. People can hardly imagine how completely a family can be ruined after such an incident. Of course, we want justice. We have also cooperated in every way,” he told The Daily Star.

“Our only demand is that the real culprits face the highest punishment,” he said.

At that time, a top Rab official told the media that disputes between religious groups might have been the reason behind the killings, as Lutfar used to describe himself as a “follower of Imam Mahdi” and wrote religious books.

Back then, an additional deputy commissioner (Wari division) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) said a gang of 10 armed men carried out the murders. “It was a planned murder,” he said.

On the day of the killings, Abdullah filed a case with Wari Police Station against 10 to 12 unidentified killers.

According to case records, investigators have sought at least 107 dates over the past 12 years to finish their probe. Yet, the investigation remains incomplete.

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