Unidentified assailants have gunned down a Jatiotabadi Jubo Dal activist and wounded two traders in Dhaka's Mirpur-13.

The shooting took place around 11:00 pm on Friday outside the Opex Garments factory in Block E.

Police later launched an investigation into the motive behind the attack.

The deceased has been identified as Yusuf Ali, 45, who was involved in Jubo Dal politics, according to a bdnews24.com report.

The two injured are Nalam Sardar, 45, a raw materials trader, and Monir Hossain, 32, a footpath clothing vendor.

Nalam was shot in the back of the head, while Monir suffered a bullet wound to his leg.

All three were taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), where doctors pronounced Yusuf dead.

The other two are receiving treatment.

A witness and Yusuf's political colleague, identified only as Mamun, said he was having tea with Yusuf and two others outside the factory when four or five unidentified young men repeatedly circled the group, raising suspicion.

He said Yusuf asked where they were from and why they were moving around them. One of the men reportedly replied that he was from Mirpur-10.

As they began to leave, Yusuf stopped one of them, leading to an argument.

According to Mamun, the man then pushed Yusuf away, walked a short distance, pulled out a pistol and fired indiscriminately. Yusuf was shot in the chest and collapsed.

Mamun said locals rushed the victims to DMCH, where Yusuf was declared dead around 12:30 am.

He added that the other two victims remained in “critical condition” in the hospital's emergency department.

After the shooting, local residents caught one of the alleged attackers and handed him over to police.

Yusuf hailed from Barishal's Wazirpur Upazila and lived with his family in Kafrul.

Kafrul Police chief Saiful Islam said the incident is under investigation.