A case was filed on Tuesday with Ramna police station in connection with Monday’s murder of  Bangladesh Jatiyatabadi Swechchhasebak Dal leader Billal Hossain in the capital’s Mouchak area.

Billal’s wife Ambia Khatun filed the case against 21 identified people including the local leaders of Jatiyatabadi Juba Dal, the youth front of the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party, and seven or eight unidentified individuals.

The named accused include Ramna thana Juba Dal convener Didarul Islam Babu, member secretary Lutfur Rahman and their followers Al Amin Mahin, Riazul Hasan, Shiraj, Saiful, Sujan and Sumon, two officials at Ramna police station said.

The family alleged that extortion was the main reason behind the murder. 

According to the case document, Babu and other accused regularly used to extort money from the vendors on footpaths and general traders of Anarkoli Market.

There was a long standing dispute between Babu and the victim’s nephew, Mobarak, who had a business in the market, regarding the extortion, it alleged, adding that Babu asked Billal to come to the market for an arbitration meeting.

It also alleged that Babu and other accused attacked Billal and Riazul stabbed Billal following orders from Babu.

The police said that they held accused Al Amin from Dhaka and Riazul from Munshiganj at the night following Monday.

Victim Billal, 47, is a former convener of the Ramna unit of the Bangladesh Jatiyatabadi Swechchhasebak Dal, the volunteer wing of the BNP.

Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s assistant commissioner for Ramna zone, Mazharul Islam, said that operations were underway to arrest the other suspects.

Following the Monday’s murder, Juba Dal dissolved its Ramna thana committee and expelled the unit’s convener Didarul Islam Babu and member secretary Lutfur Rahman.

Victim Billal was a brick and sand trader and used to live at a house in the capital’s Malibagh Baganbari area.

The police said that the murder took place at about 8:00pm on Monday in a lane in front of Anarkoli Market under Ramna police station.

The victim’s nephew, Mobarak Hossain Akash, claimed that a group of assailants led by Babu and Lutfur attacked Billal during an arbitration meeting near the market over an alleged assault on Mobarak. 

One of the assailants stabbed him in the right side of his chest before fleeing the scene, he claimed.

The victim’s son alleged that there was a dispute over extortion by Babu in the market and it led to the murder.

Billal’s body was handed over to his family on Tuesday afternoon after a post-mortem examination at Dhaka Medical College Hospital morgue.

Following the incident, Juba Dal expelled Babu and dissolved its Ramna committee, according to a press release issued by the organisation.

The organisation on Tuesday afternoon issued another press release expelling Lutfur from the organisation.